He Gave Me the World
by BuffyAnn23
Summary: Rose Tyler is positive that she's finally found the man of her dreams but when a case of mistaken identity after an incident on Christmas Eve forces her to play the part of her crush's fiancé Rose quickly finds herself becoming part of his family as she attempts to keep up the charade while simultaneously finding herself falling for his brother. A While You Were Sleeping A/U.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I absolutely adore this movie and I've been wanting to do an A/U version with The Doctor and Rose for a while so I hope you guys enjoy. If you'd like to see the fan art, check out my Ao3 account under the same pen name. This first bit is really short I know, but I promise the real chapters will be longer.**

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" _Love_ looks _not with the eyes_ , _but with the mind_ , _And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind"_

 **Epilogue**

It's funny how life never turns out how you'd expect. Growin' up on a council estate wasn't so bad. It was jus' me and my mum and though we didn't have much she worked hard to provide for us. She even started taking hair appointments at the flat jus' so she could spend more time with me.

I never knew my dad. He died in a car accident when I was jus' a baby but mum always had plenty of stories to tell. Like how he had managed to get her name wrong durin' their weddin' ceremony. She always talked about how angry she was with him at that moment but still whenever she told the story, she did so fondly, focusin' more on the ways he had tried to make it up to her afterwards. My favorites though were the ones all about his daft get rich quick schemes, from marketin' solar panels to creatin' and distributin' vitamin drinks. None of them ever panned out of course but it never deterred him. He jus' kept tryin' up until the day he died.

I remember one night when mum was tuckin' me in I asked her how she knew that dad was the one and she said,

"Rose sweetheart, aside from you, your daddy gave me a really special gift. He gave me the world."

Okay, so technically it was this giant plastic light up globe that eventually became my nightlight. He found it at a jumble sale for five quid a few months after they started datin' and told her it was a placeholder until he could build up his small fortune enough to actually take her travelin'. But for mum and her sentimentality regardin' all of dad's unique quirks, it might as well have been the world.

When I met Jack he didn't exactly give me the world, it was more like a…really big commission. But we've flirted…a lot, and he always asks for me when he comes in so there's that. S' kinda like M' his own personal shopper. We haven't really gotten beyond the small talk yet, you know clothes, weather, good restaurants, but M' workin' up to it. I am. 'Cause there's a definite spark between us and I jus' know in my heart that this is the beginnin' of somethin' special. My own story that I'll be able to tell my kids one day of how their father and I came to be.

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 **A/N: Reviews are welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: First chapter, yay!**

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 **Chapter 1**

Rose Tyler glanced around wearily at the bustling shoppers as she folded oxfords into a pile. The holiday rush was in full force and people were maxing out their credit cards left and right as they strove to find that perfect Christmas gift. Henrik's was usually busy this time of the season but the week of Christmas was always the worst and unfortunately this year, due to various circumstances, the staff in certain departments had been significantly depleted. Her close friend and co-worker Shireen had decided to visit her family for the holidays so she had taken her lunch break a little early in order to pick up a few things she needed before she left town, leaving Rose to man their section alone and she still wasn't back yet. Luckily, Rose mused, there didn't seem to be much of a demand on menswear this year.

The tinkling of a bell pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up to see a woman standing at the register.

"Be right with you ma'am." she called out as she finished folding the last shirt and set it on top of the pile. As she stepped up to the checkout counter, Shireen arrived looking somewhat out of breath.

"I've got this." The blonde told her as she stuffed her bag under the counter and moved to take over ringing up the woman. "Sarah Jane needs to see you in her office."

"What for?" Rose asked furrowing her brow.

Shireen shook her head as she began scanning the items on the counter. "No clue. She just stopped me on my way in and asked me to tell you."

Rose sighed inwardly. "Alright. I'll jus' be a few minutes, yeah?"

Shireen nodded, returning her attention to the customer as Rose made her way to the back of the store and took the lift up to the fourth floor. When she reached the office, the atmosphere seemed almost as rushed as it was downstairs. Staffers bustled about distributing paperwork and answering phones. A few people waved in greeting as she passed, but for the most part everyone was focused on their work.

"Hey Ianto," she called cheerfully as she approached a large desk towards the back. "Is she in?"

A tall, dark haired gentleman with baby blue eyes spun away from the filing cabinet in the corner and grinned brightly.

"Hey Rose. Yeah, she's expecting you so you can go right in."

"Thanks Yan."

"No problem. Can I get you something to drink?" he asked as she moved towards the door. "Coffee, tea..?"

Rose shook her head and smiled. "No M' good, thanks."

He nodded and returned to filing as she brought her hand up and knocked softly.

"Come in." a slightly muffled voice responded.

As Rose stepped into the room Sarah Jane looked up from the large stack up paperwork in her hand and smiled.

"There she is; my favorite employee." The brunette chirped, slipping off her glasses and gesturing for Rose to take a seat.

Arching a skeptical brow at her boss's unusual bout of peppiness, she closed the door and sat down in one of the chairs facing the desk looking back at her expectantly. Sarah Jane gave her a warm smile that didn't reach her eyes and Rose immediately knew something was off.

"I called you in here," The older woman began. "To let you know that I've been so impressed with your work and attendance lately that I'm making you employee of the month. It comes with a pay raise, an additional twenty percent store discount and an extra week of paid vacation a year."

Sarah Jane paused for a moment to gauge her reaction, but instead of the display of enthusiasm she had been expecting, Rose crossed her arms and eyed her suspiciously.

"Alright out with it. What do you want?"

Sarah Jane's smile faltered and she sighed in resignation. "I need you to work the close shift tomorrow."

"What?" Rose exclaimed. "But I asked for the day off over a month ago."

"I know, I know and I'm really sorry. But with Keisha on maternity leave and Shireen going out of town I've got no one else to cover."

"S' Christmas Eve, can't we jus' close early?"

Sarah Jane shook her head apologetically. "Corporate wants all those last minute sales."

Rose released a breath of frustration. "Sarah Jane..."

"I know sweetheart." The brunette stood up and walked around the desk to sit beside her, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Look I can't force you to do it, but Rose…" she trailed off looking uncomfortable.

"Yeah," Rose conceded. "M' the only one with no family."

 **-** **oOo-**

"Knock, Knock."

"Who is it?" Rose asked, pressing her palms against the door as she peered out the peephole at the large blurred object.

"Special Christmas delivery for Rose Tyler!"

Smiling and shaking her head at the familiar voice she opened the door and her jaw dropped at the sight of the large Douglas-fir standing on her porch.

"Surprise!" Mickey Smith, Rose's best friend since childhood, poked his head out from behind the thick green branches, his brown eyes twinkling in amusement. "I know you didn't have time to get one yourself this year so voila!" He gestured towards the tree with his free hand, a pleased grin spreading across his face.

"Oh Micks" she breathed out. "You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did." he protested. "I wasn't gonna let my best friend go without a tree on Christmas." He smiled again and she returned it before stepping aside so that he could bring the tree into the flat. "Besides, Jake gave me a really good discount 'cause I fixed the brake line on his car the other day." he called over his shoulder. "Where's your tree stand?"

"In the closet. I'll get it. Oh, and by the way," Rose walked over to the end table and pulled a thin rectangular package wrapped with silver paper and a red bow on top from the drawer. "I got you a little somethin' too." She grinned mischievously as she tossed him the gift. "Martha told me it was on your list. But you can't open it till Christmas." she warned with a pointed finger before rushing from the room.

When she returned with the tree stand he had already shifted the couch over to make room and was propping the tree up against the wall in the corner. Taking the proffered item he unzipped his jacket and removed it, tossing it over the arm of the couch before returning to the task at hand.

"You take that side, I'll take this one." he instructed once the device was set up securely.

"So how's Martha been?" Rose asked as she helped him lower the tree into the stand.

"She's great. She's got to work the afternoon shift at the hospital tomorrow but she managed to get Christmas day off so we're gonna spend Christmas morning with my Gran and then we'll head over to her parents in the evening." Mickey paused as he took in Rose's wistful expression and hurried to lighten the mood. "But hey, we're still on for dinner tomorrow right?" he asked, dropping to the floor to secure the trunk to the base. "Martha's cooking. She figured it was probably best after last year's little incident."

"Little incident?" Rose snorted softly. "You mean when you set the kitchen on fire?"

"Yeah, that."

His tone was so blase Rose couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up in her throat, but after a few moments her expression turned wistful again.

"M' sorry I can't make it this year. I jus' found out I have to close at the shop tomorrow."

"What? That's ridiculous." he replied, his voice slightly muffled by the thickness of the tree. "You asked off like a month ago and you're already workin' Boxing Day."

Rose sighed. "I know, and I was really looking forward to spendin' the evenin' with you guys. We don't get to see each other as much anymore with Martha's hectic schedule and you workin' doubles down at the garage."

"Yeah, Martha and I were sayin' the same thing the other day." Mickey sighed and shook his head. "M' really sorry Rose. I can't believe they did that to you."

"Well, you know, everyone else already had plans and since M' the one with no family…" she trailed off with a shrug.

"For what it's worth," Mickey paused in his actions, looking up at her through the branches. "We may not be family in the traditional sense but you'll always have me and Martha."

Rose ducked her head and smiled softly as her eyes welled up. "Thanks Mick."

"Tightening the last screw Mickey slid out from underneath the tree and hopped to his feet, dusting off his hands. "All done. Whaddya think?" he asked, draping an arm over her shoulders.

Rose tilted her head to the side in contemplation. "I think it needs ornaments."

 **-** **oOo-**

Five minutes till close and counting.

Rose sighed as she stared at the clock on the far wall. Not surprisingly the store had been practically empty compared to the previous day. There were of course a few last minute shoppers but they mainly kept to other departments. In fact she had managed to ring up a grand total of two sales for the entire shift and spent the rest of the time straightening and re-straightening her section.

Now leaning over the counter with her elbow propped up on the surface and her chin resting in the palm of her hand, she was essentially willing the time to go faster.

When the clock finally struck ten, freeing her from her shackles of boredom, Rose promptly grabbed her coat and handbag and after wishing a quick goodnight to Harry, the head of security, she pulled her scarf from her bag and wrapped it around her neck as she stepped out into the crisp, cold night air. It had stopped snowing for the time being but there was a threat for more and she was hoping to get home before the next wave hit.

The walk to Oxford Circus Station was brisk and with it being Christmas Eve Rose figured the place was likely be deserted. She just hoped the tube was on time.

As she made her way down the steps she caught sight of a lone figure standing at the end of the platform. He was wearing a large overcoat and clutching a briefcase in his right hand while looking down at the watch on his left and although she couldn't see his face, she would recognize that navy blue RAF greatcoat anywhere. It was him, Jack, the man of her dreams.

He had first started coming into Henrik's about a year ago, a couple of times every month and always for business attire. He was tall, dark and flirty, with a chiseled jaw, bright blue eyes and a toothpaste commercial grin that made her heart skip a beat whenever he smiled, and after their first encounter Jack had been so impressed by her fashion choices that he started asking for her specifically every time he came in.

Okay, so granted she didn't even know his last name; come to think of it he probably didn't know hers either, but they had exchanged plenty of pleasantries over the last few months for her to know there was definitely a spark between them. She had just been too afraid to do anything about it.

Jack looked up and leaned forward slightly to peer down the tunnel and as his profile came into view, her breath hitched. This was kismet. He had obviously just left the office and she had ended up having to work after she was originally scheduled to have the day off and now here they both were, alone, on Christmas Eve. It was fate that's what it was, it had to be. Chewing her bottom lip, she came to a decision. She was going to do it. She was going to finally have a real conversation with him and tell him how she felt. Screwing up her courage she began to descend the last couple of steps when she saw two men approach him and start up a conversation. After a few moments the exchange became slightly aggressive when one of the men shoved Jack and he stumbled backwards, tipping over the side of the platform.

She wasn't sure if she screamed in that moment, but the next thing Rose knew she was running, barely even registering the two assailants as they darted past her and up the stairs in their haste to get away. Coming to an abrupt halt at the edge of the platform where she saw Jack disappear, she leaned over slightly to see him lying motionless on the tracks below and her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

"Oh my god, somebody help!" she shouted, glancing around frantically.

Receiving no response, she dropped to her knees, carefully calculating the distance from the platform to the tracks below. Swinging her legs over the side she then turned on her stomach and carefully lowered herself down from the platform until only her hands were gripping the surface before dropping softly onto the tracks below.

"Jack?" Rose said softly as she knelt down beside him, her eyes sweeping over his unmoving form. "Jack can you hear me?"

Unsure as to whether or not she should even try to move him, she reached into her pocket for her cell phone and quickly dialed 999.

"Hello, yes my name's Rose Tyler. I'm at the Oxford Circus Station and there's been an accident. A man has fallen onto the tracks. He's unconscious and I can't seem to wake him." She listened intently as the operator began to give her instructions but a noise in the distance soon drew her attention away from the conversation. "Oh god," she murmured as her head turned towards the sound of the approaching tube, the phone sliding slowly away from her ear.

Ignoring the operator's alarmed inquiries, she quickly ended the call and shoved her phone back into her pocket before leaning down and gently trying to shake Jack awake.

"Jack, please you have to wake up. The tube's comin' and we've got to get out of here."

Her eyes darted around the tunnel, up to the platform and around again as she tried to formulate a plan when the whistle sounded again and she looked up to see the headlights as they barreled towards them.

"Jack." she pleaded, shaking him again but still receiving the same result.

Glancing to her left at the small alcove beneath the platform, Rose said a silent prayer as she quickly wrapped her arms around Jack, squeezed her eyes shut and used every ounce of strength she had to roll them to safety. They came to a stop with her above him once more and she pressed her face against his chest, clutching tightly to his jacket as the tube sped past. Once the artificial wind had died down and the tube had come to a stop Rose carefully lifted her head and released a breath of relief. The fluttering of lashes drew her attention down to Jack's face as his eyes blinked open slowly, staring at her as if through a thick fog.

"Hey." she said softly, giving him a warm smile.

There was no recognition in his gaze as he looked up at her and after a few seconds his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell into unconsciousness once more.

Rose stared down at him fondly, brushing the hair back from his face as the sound of sirens grew louder, alerting her that the ambulance had arrived and she smiled gratefully. "You hear that Jack?" she asked, stroking his cheek softly. "Help's on the way and you're gonna be jus' fine."

 **-** **oOo-**

The ambulance ride to Saint Mary's hospital was short but nerve-racking. Rose made sure to keep out of the way so that the paramedics could focus on Jack, even declining to allow them to examine her properly until she knew he was okay. Upon their arrival at the hospital she followed closely behind the gurney but as soon as they had wheeled Jack through the double doors, Rose was immediately forced away from him by a multitude of doctors and nurses trying to diagnose his condition.

Although the anxiety and adrenaline were still pumping throughout her body, she managed to calmly maintain a reasonable distance in order to allow the staff to work but the moment they started wheeling him towards the A&E she moved to follow once more.

"I'm sorry miss but you can't go in there."

Rose glanced up at the man who had just stepped in front of her. He was a bit younger than the other doctors who were attending to Jack and there seemed to be an air of arrogance about him, further corroborated by the fact that he was wearing a t-shirt that said 'The Doctor is In' under his lab coat. Her eyes drifted to the name tag on his lapel. _Doctor Owen Harper M.D._

"Only family is allowed beyond this point." he said, regaining her attention.

"But I need to be with him." she protested, trying to sidestep him only to have her path blocked again.

"Are you family?" Owen asked.

"No. But you don't understand. I…he…" she sputtered as she tried to find a way to explain herself but was unable to come up with a valid response.

"I'm sorry but if you're not family, you'll have to wait out here. One of the nurses will show you to the waiting room. "Tosh?" he gestured to the young Asian woman standing at the admin desk before turning swiftly and walking away.

"But, I was gonna marry him." Rose murmured, heaving a sigh of defeat.

Tosh gasped softly, pressing a hand to her chest. "That poor girl."

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 **A/N: Reviews are welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

It was just after one in the morning when Rose was gently shaken awake. After a few moments of trying to regain her bearings, the memory of what had transpired and how she wound up sitting in the hospital waiting room came flooding back to her.

"Sorry." she mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and blinking away the glare from the fluorescent lighting to see the nurse, Tosh smiling softly down at her. "I must have been more tired than I thought."

"It's no problem." Tosh assured her. "I just wanted to let you know that they've moved Mr. Noble to the ICU if you'd like to go see him."

Rose's brows furrowed briefly in confusion before realizing Tosh was talking about Jack and she nodded fervently.

"Yes, please." she said, immediately standing up to follow her.

Tosh led her down the hall, through a set of double doors and to a glass paneled room directly across from the nurses' station. She paused just outside the door, gesturing for Rose to go in first and then stepped in behind her.

"The Doctor will be in to talk to you about his condition in a few moments." Tosh said, placing a comforting hand on Rose's back and guiding her towards the bed. "But you can talk to him for a bit. Let him know you're here."

"Thank you." Rose smiled appreciatively as she set her handbag down next to the bed and lowered herself into the chair provided.

Tosh nodded, returning her smile and turned to leave just as a man in a dark suit stepped into the room.

"I'm Detective Inspector Davies." he said quietly, flashing her his badge. "Could you tell me if that's the young woman who witnessed Mr. Noble's accident?"

"Yeah." Tosh cast a look back over her shoulder at Rose, grinning enthusiastically. "She's actually his fiancé."

"Really?" he replied looking somewhat impressed as his eyes drifted towards the blonde.

Rose, who had been whispering encouragements to Jack, glanced over at the sound of hushed voices just in time to see Tosh excuse herself and the man she had been speaking with turn his focus on her.

"Sorry to bother you Ms. Tyler," he said flashing his badge once more. "But I was hoping to ask you some questions about the accident."

"Yes of course." she nodded, giving Jack once last appraising look before standing up and moving towards the detective. He was just pulling a pen and small notepad from his pocket when she stepped up beside him but before he could even get a word out, an older gentleman in a white lab coat walked in.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Gatiss." He looked from Rose to the Detective Inspector and then back again. "Oh, I'm sorry am I interrupting?"

"No, it's fine." The detective assured him, gesturing towards the back wall. "I'll just wait over here till you're finished."

Doctor Gatiss nodded and then turned back to Rose, extending his hand and she shook it. "I wanted to go over a few things with you regarding Mr. Noble's condition." he began, placing his other hand over the top of their clasped ones in a reassuring manner. "The injury caused but the fall didn't do any major damage, but there's some swelling in the brain that's caused…" he trailed off at the sound of raised voices just outside the door.

"I don't care, we want to see him." A man was arguing as he pushed past the nurses trying to block his path. "I refuse to sit in that waiting room any longer while no one gives us a straight answer about what's going on."

"You can't just come barging into a private ward." Doctor Gatiss protested as the middle-aged man stepped into the room.

Following closely behind him was a woman roughly about the same age with dark blonde hair, a younger redheaded woman and an elderly gentleman with snowy white hair and a short beard.

"This is our son." The man informed him ushering the blonde woman over to Jack's beside.

"Oh my god Geoff, he's so pale." she said, pressing a hand to her mouth.

"What's going on?" Geoff asked, looking back at the doctor. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's in a coma."

"On Christmas Day?" Jack's mother wailed, grasping hold of her husband's hand which had been resting on her shoulder.

"It'll be alright Sylvia." Geoff reassured her with a gentle pat on the back before turning his attention to Doctor Gatiss once more. "How did this happen?"

"Um," Rose cleared her throat. "He was pushed onto the tracks at Oxford Circus Station."

All eyes in the room immediately turned on her and Rose took a small step back in response to their scrutinizing gazes.

"Who is she?" Geoff asked.

"She's his fiancée." Tosh announced as if it should have been obvious.

Rose's mouth dropped open, the color draining from her face as she whipped her head towards Tosh and the room erupted once more.

"His fiancée?" Sylvia exclaimed. "What do you mean his fiancée?"

"Wait, Jack got engaged and didn't tell anyone?" The redheaded woman shouted incredulously.

"Maybe he forgot." The elderly gentleman offered.

"Right, so he just conveniently forgot to tell his own mother he was getting married." Geoff scoffed.

"Doctor Gatiss, this woman shouldn't be in here." Rose looked up to see Doctor Harper standing in the doorway and pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Oi! Have some respect for the lady." Detective Inspector Davies chided. "She saved the man's life."

Jack's father stopped in his rant and stared at the Detective Inspector in confusion. "What do you mean she saved his life? I thought he was pushed onto the tracks."

"He was. She jumped onto the tracks…"

"You jumped onto the tracks?" Geoff interjected staring at Rose in disbelief and awe.

Rose looked around and took another small step backwards nodding uncomfortably as the urge to bolt from the room grew stronger.

"We're so sorry," Sylvia said as she began slowly moving towards her. "It's just that we don't see Jack very often and this whole situation has been a shock to all of us. I mean, I've been trying to get him to settle down for so long and now…" her voice cracked as tears began to fill her eyes once more. "I'm just so glad he met you!" she wailed, pulling Rose into her arms as the rest of the family gathered around them and Doctor Gatiss ushered Owen and the detective from the room.

After a few moments, the redhead managed to pry Sylvia off of Rose with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. Sometimes she gets overly emotional."

"I do not." Sylvia protested as her husband guided her over to the chair next to the bed.

As the rest of the family moved to surround the bed, Rose turned around and grabbed Tosh's arm, pulling her from the room and out into the hall.

"Why did you tell them that?" she hissed.

Tosh furrowed her brows in confusion. "Tell them what?"

"That I was Jack's fiancée."

"'Cause you are."

"No, M' not."

"But…you are." Tosh insisted. "I heard you say you were going to marry him last night when they brought him in."

"Oh my god." Rose groaned, pressing her hand to her forehead in exasperation. "I was jus' talkin' to myself. I didn't mean we were actually engaged."

Tosh clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry Rose. It's just; when I heard you say that I thought…"

"No, S' not your fault." Rose cut in shaking her head. "I shouldn't have said that out loud." She glanced behind her through the window at Jack's family who were still standing at his bedside and talking amongst themselves. "I don't know what to do." she sighed, turning back to Tosh. "I mean his mum was so happy to hear we were engaged and if I tell them we're not…"

"Excuse me, nurse?"

Rose tensed up slightly as she and Tosh turned to see the redheaded woman standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." she said as she approached them, smiling at Rose before turning her attention to Tosh. "I was hoping maybe you could get some nitroglycerin for my granddad."

"Oh, does he have heart problems?" Tosh asked.

The redhead snorted softly. "Not if you let him tell it. He had a bypass about six months ago, so we're always cautious after stressful situations like this. I'm Donna by the way." she said, turning to Rose. "And I just want to thank you again for what you did. You didn't just save my brother's life, you saved all of ours."

Rose opened and closed her mouth several times in a wordless reply as Donna pulled her in for a hug that she reluctantly returned while trying to avoid the sympathetic look on Tosh's face.

Pulling back, Donna gripped Rose's upper arms lightly and gave her a watery smile. "I'll be proud to call you my sister." she said before letting go and turning to follow Tosh down the hall.

Rose choked back a sob as she watched Donna's retreating form. She had absolutely no idea how she was going to fix this. She only hoped she could before it got any further out of hand than it already had.

 **-** **oOo-**

"So how did you two meet?"

The family had been shown to the same waiting room that Rose had been in the night before so that Doctor Gatiss could run a few routine diagnostics on Jack uninterrupted and now they were all sitting around attempting to make small talk. Rose looked up in response to the question. The elderly gentleman recently introduced as Jack's grandfather Wilf sat down across from her, folding his hands in his lap and giving her a warm smile.

"Dad, she's had a long night. Leave her be." Sylvia chided.

"Oh come on then sweetheart. I thought you loved a good romantic story."

"Granddad, this is Jack we're talking about." Donna cut in. "He's not so much with the romance as he is the unabashed flirting."

Rose couldn't help but smile at that remark, remembering the first time she met him.

"Yes, well Jack's flirting has also led to a few… let's just say less than pleasant relationships in the past." Geoff added, pausing in his continuous pacing. "In fact, the last time he came round he was dating some French woman. What was her name? Jeanne something. Real uppity type that talked down to everyone like she was the queen. You remember her Wilf?"

"Oh, yes." Wilf shuddered. "I remember all right."

"Geoff, do we really need to discuss that right now?" Sylvia admonished, her tone becoming slightly irritated.

"All I'm saying is she was awful high and mighty for someone who has never worked a day in her life and lives off a trust fund." he contended.

"Well, none of that matters anymore because now he's found a lovely young woman to spend his life with." She smiled kindly at Rose. "So tell me, what was it that first drew you to Jack?"

"Um," Rose blushed and looked down at her hands in her lap. "Well, I really like his smile."

"Ah, yes. All the Noble men have great smiles." Sylvia looked up at her husband fondly and he gave her a grin to prove it.

"Did he show off his car?" Donna asked. "He likes to show off his car."

"Donna!"

"What? He does."

"Will you two let the poor girl talk?" Wilf interjected leaving both women looking slightly abashed before turning back to Rose. "Go ahead young lady."

"Well, um." Rose looked down at her hands. "I work at Henrik's and he came in one day lookin' for some suits for work and I helped him pick out a few things. He told me he really liked my taste in clothing and he was so sweet and kind and then he smiled at me and I jus'…" she sighed dreamily as she looked up into their smiling faces. "I knew my life would never be the same."

 **-** **oOo-**

"Rose!"

The sound of Mickey's voice gave Rose just enough time to turn around and set down her groceries before he came barreling up the steps and grabbed her in a tight hug.

"Martha told me you were involved in some sort of accident down at the station last night." he said, pulling back to look her in the eyes. "She tried to find you as soon as she heard but the nurses in the ICU told her you had already left. Are you alright? What happened?"

"M' fine Micks. Really." she added at his look of disbelief as she extracted herself from his panicked embrace, picked up her bags and turned to unlock the door of her flat. "S' not a big deal."

Stepping inside, she flicked on the lights and headed for the kitchen leaving Mickey standing in the doorway.

"Not a big deal?" He closed the door and locked it before joining her in the kitchen. "Rose you went to the hospital."

"I went _with_ someone." she amended, pulling two beers from the six-pack she had bought and passing him one before placing the rest in the refrigerator.

"You want to elaborate on that or am I just supposed to guess what happened?"

She shrugged, popping the cap off her beer. "Not much to tell. I saw a guy get hurt, called 999 and I went with him to the hospital. That's basically it."

"Mmm hmm. That's it huh?" he said, glancing down at the bottle in his hand and Rose arched a questioning brow. "Oh, don't give me that look. The only times you really drink are the rare occasions when we go out to the pub or when you're extremely stressed. So spill."

Sighing, Rose moved to the couch and plopped down. "Okay, you remember that guy I told you about who's been comin' into Henrik's?"

"You mean the guy you've been crushin' on for like a year but still haven't made a move on?"

Rose supplied him with a mock glare but tamped down her retort in favor of getting through the story quickly.

"Yeah. His name's Jack. Jack Noble." She smiled fondly. "So last night after work I went straight to the station and…"

"We really need to get you your own car."

"Seriously?" Rose gave him an incredulous look. "Do you really want to discuss my lack of transportation right now or do you want to know what happened?"

"Sorry." he replied with a sheepish grin, popping the cap off his own beer before joining her on the couch.

"So," she continued. "I went down to the station and he was there. Jus' standin' there waitin' for the tube and I jus' knew it had to be fate." Mickey rolled his eyes good-naturedly and she lightly smacked his arm in retaliation. "Anyway, I decided that I was gonna tell him how I felt but then these two guys came out of nowhere and they started to argue with him and then one of them shoved Jack and he fell off the platform." She shuddered at the memory. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't even think. I jus' climbed down onto the tracks and…"

"You did what!" Mickey sputtered, choking on his beer.

Rose sighed. "Mickey,"

"Are you insane?" he cut her off wiping his mouth on his sleeve and setting his bottle on the coffee table. Rose, you could've been killed!"

"Yes, thank you Captain Obvious." she said flatly, rolling her eyes. "But I wasn't. Look, I got Jack to safety in time, called 999 from my mobile and then the paramedics showed up and took us to the hospital. S' no big deal."

Mickey shook his head in disbelief. "How can you be so cavalier about taking such a stupid risk?"

"S' not stupid Mickey. I saved his life. He needed help and I was the only one there. What would you have had me do; jus' leave him to die?"

"No, of course not." Mickey shot back. "But that doesn't mean I like the thought of you puttin' yourself in danger either."

"I know." Rose said quietly, looking down at the bottle in her hands. "And M' sorry for scarin' you guys. It was jus'…" she shrugged. "I dunno instinct or somethin'. I didn't think; I jus' did it."

Mickey placed his hand over hers, squeezing gently. "I get why you did it and M' really glad the guy's okay but you're my best friend Rose. I don't want anything bad happening to you." She gave him a small smile that he returned before letting go and reaching for his beer. "So Supergirl," he said cheekily trying to lighten the mood a bit and she rolled her eyes. "Did you at least get a 'thanks for saving me' kiss from Mr. dreamy out of the deal?"

"No, actually he's in a coma right now and they're not sure how long it will last." She brought the beer bottle to her lips and took a big swig.

The teasing smile slipped from Mickey's face and he blew out a breath. "Oh man. M' so sorry Rose."

"Mmm." Rose swallowed. "That's not the worst part."

"How is _that_ not the worst part?"

He looked at her expectantly and realizing that she couldn't put off this part of the conversation any longer, she took a deep breath and let her confession spill out in a rush of words.

"Well, when we got to the hospital they wouldn't let me go with him to the A&E and I may have accidentally blurted out that I was gonna marry him in front of one of the nurses."

Mickey groaned, dropping his head back against the couch and sliding downwards. "I can already guess where this is goin'."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Well they moved him to the ICU and the nurse came and got me so that I could see him but when we got to the room, everythin' went crazy. I mean first this Detective showed up to ask me some questions about the accident and then the doctor came in to tell me about Jack's condition and then suddenly his family was there wantin' to know who I was and that's when the nurse told them I was his fiancée." She put her head in her hands. "It all happened so fast Mickey. I didn't know what to do and now they think M' their future daughter in law."

Mickey took a moment to absorb the information before speaking again. "Wow. That's just…wow."

"Yeah."

He glanced over at her. "So what are you gonna do now?"

"Honestly, I don't know." She slumped back against the couch, mirroring his pose. "I don't want to lie to them. They're good people and after the shock wore off they were so excited about the engagement I jus' couldn't bring myself to tell them. Not to mention his mum gets these panic attacks and his grandfather just recently had a bypass and if I tell them the truth he could have a heart attack and die and it would be all my fault and then Jack would hate me forever." Rose heaved a sigh, turning her head to gauge Mickey's reaction. "What do you think I should do?"

"Well I can understand you not wanting to upset his mum or give his granddad a heart attack." Mickey blew out a breath and shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know what I would do in your situation. I mean, I guess you could always play along for a little while."

Rose's eyes widened in surprise at his suggestion. "What? Seriously?"

"Well, just until Jack wakes up anyway." he amended. "I mean, it's not like you're total strangers and I think if you were to explain it to him, he'd understand and maybe even be able to help you square things with his family."

Rose chewed her bottom lip in thought. "I jus' hate havin' to lie about who I really am. It feels like M' takin' advantage of them."

Mickey turned his head to look at her and reached for her hand again, giving it a squeeze. "You're not a bad person Rose and you're not deliberately trying to deceive them. It's more like you're offerin' them comfort after what happened to their son. Just be there for them and when Jack wakes up they'll probably be so grateful they won't even care."

"Yeah, maybe." she agreed, but even to her own ears that sounded unconvincing.

 **-** **oOo-**

Rose couldn't sleep. The events of the previous day continued to play over and over in her head and after tossing and turning for the umpteenth time, she climbed out of bed and padded over to the closet to get dressed.

It was just after eleven when she arrived at the hospital, the atmosphere significantly more subdued than when she had been there the previous night, and after a quick hello to Tosh, Rose made her way down the hall towards the ICU. The two nurses posted at the station across from Jack's room spared her a quick glance as she passed before returning to their work.

She paused in the doorway, taking in his sleeping form and smiled softly. His dark hair was slightly tousled and he had a bit more color to his cheeks than the last time she saw him. The head of the bed had been partially inclined to keep his upper body elevated and he was wearing a dark blue terrycloth robe over his hospital gown. He looked so peaceful.

Moving quietly across the room, she lowered herself into the chair beside the bed and set her handbag on the floor.

"Hey you." she murmured, her eyes cataloguing his face for any sign of a response. "Bet you're surprised to see me again yeah?" she chuckled softly as she scooted forward to the edge of the chair. "Listen, I jus' wanted to apologize to you for everythin' that's happened. I swear I didn't mean for things to go this far. I know we don't really know each other all that well I mean I didn't even know your surname till last night. Noble." She smiled. "S' very fittin'. Mine's Tyler by the way. Rose Tyler. Anyway, M' gettin' off track. S' jus'…" she sighed. "Do you believe in love at first sight? Yeah, maybe you don't. I guess S' kind of an old-fashioned romantic notion. I dunno, I guess I felt like there's been this spark between us since that first time we met and I kept thinkin' that maybe if you got to know me, really got to know me, you might realize you felt the same way. Of course I've been too scared to actually do anythin' about it. I guess there's not really a good way to tell someone you hardly know that you're in love with them." She smiled sadly down at her hands. "M' probably jus' confusin' you, yeah? I guess loneliness can make you do crazy things. I mean, don't get me wrong I've got friends, really good friends that mean a lot to me. S' jus' I've been searchin' so long for that connection you know, that moment when you meet someone and your hands touch and you realize you've finally found that piece of you that's been missin' your whole life. I guess I was sorta hopin' that someone was you." She reached out and gently placed her hand on top of his. "I promise you though, this is not the way I meant for things to happen and I hate lyin' to your family 'cause they're all so wonderful, jus' like you. But M' so afraid it'll hurt them even more if I tell them the truth now." She sighed. "I jus' hope you'll give me a chance to explain when you wake up and that you don't hate me when all this is over."

A lone figure stood silent witness to Rose's heartfelt confession just outside the door, a doleful look etched across his withered features. Wilf lingered for a few seconds more, watching as the young woman leaned forward to tenderly brush the hair back from his grandson's face and after momentarily debating with himself, turned away and headed back down the hall.

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews are welcome!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

Rose awoke to the faint sound of phones ringing and the shuffling steps of the morning staff as they went about their duties. As awareness slowly came back to her, she opened her eyes to find herself still in Jack's hospital room slumped against the side of his bed with her head resting against the side rail. Straightening up, she winced at the slight crick in her neck and rolled her shoulders a few times to loosen the muscles before pulling her phone from her pocket to check the time. A quarter to eight. If she was going to make it to work on time she needed to leave now. Standing up, Rose quickly gathered her things and cast an endearing look upon Jack's sleeping form.

"Sorry, I've got to get to work. But I'll try to stop by to see you later, yeah?"

She placed her hand lightly over his and smiled, whispering a quick goodbye before turning and heading for the door.

"Rose!" Sylvia gasped in pleasant surprise, almost colliding with her as she stepped inside the room with the rest of the family following behind her. "Have you been here all night?"

"Yeah." Rose smiled sheepishly and ran a hand through her sleep mussed locks. "I guess I lost track of how late it was and drifted off without even realizin' it."

"That's alright sweetheart." Wilf patted her on the shoulder as he passed. "I sometimes fall asleep in random places myself."

"More like all the time." Donna amended before turning to Rose to whisper. "It drives mum bonkers."

Rose chuckled softly at that before glancing back towards the bed where Sylvia and Geoff were carefully observing their son.

"How is he?" Geoff asked, looking back at her. "Any change?"

Rose shook her head. "No. But he does look a lot better than he did when he first came in. There seems to be more color in his cheeks."

Geoff nodded, returning his attention to Jack as Sylvia murmured her agreement with Rose's assessment.

"Well, um I should probably go." Rose gestured behind her towards the door. "I've got to be at work in an hour and I need to stop by my flat to change so…" she trailed off; turning to leave when Geoff spoke up.

"Rose we uh," He cleared his throat as she turned back to look at them and gave her a small smile. "After everything that happened, we never really got a chance to celebrate Christmas and well, we'd love it if you would join us tonight for dinner."

Rose's breath caught in her throat at the unexpected invitation and it took a few seconds before she realized they were all still staring at her in anticipation of her response.

Oh, well I um," she began not quite sure what to say. Playing the part of Jack's fiancée at the hospital was one thing but actually spending time with his family and getting closer to them while knowing it was all a lie, she didn't know if she could handle that. "S' jus' I've got to be up early for work tomorrow and M' not sure if…"

"Please Rose." Sylvia interjected. "It would mean a lot if you came."

Rose felt her heart clench in her chest as she stared into their hopeful faces knowing that it would probably crush their spirit even more if she turned them down outright. "I can um, I can try."

There. It wasn't a flat out no, but she also wasn't forcing herself to commit to the offer either and the family seemed to be happy with her response judging by the grins that now adorned their faces.

Geoff stepped forward, pulling out his wallet and withdrew a small white business card and then handed it to her. The words **Noble Antiquities** were embossed in large blue lettering across the center. "We're over in Chiswick and we own a shop there as well. We're in the antiques business, old artifacts and whatnot. I wrote our home address on the back and that's our home number." He pointed towards the phone number in the bottom left corner.

Rose nodded and gave him a small smile. "Okay, well I've got your information so…" unable to think of anything else to say she gestured behind her once more before turning and making her exit.

Although grateful for the short deferment of her decision, it was ultimately a hollow victory as she now had to try and figure out how she was going to get out of yet another awkward situation. Rose sighed. It was gonna be a long day.

 **-** **oOo-**

Rose had admittedly been distracted all day. So much so, that she even zoned out in the middle of ringing up a rather large sale and ended up having to void the entire transaction and start all over again, much to the customer's annoyance and even after pondering over the situation for eight hours, she still hadn't been able to come up with a good excuse to get her out of having dinner with Jack's family.

Slipping the business card from her pocket where it had been weighing heavily all day, she flipped it over and stared at the address scrawled across the back.

"S' jus' dinner." she told herself aloud. "Jus' one dinner that's all."

Besides, from what she already knew about Sylvia, no matter what reason she came up with for not being able to go she would ultimately end up being talked into it anyway. Her guilty conscious would make sure of that. So really she was just saving herself some time by going along with it.

With her mind made up and knowing she wouldn't have time to stop on her way there, she went to the kitchen to look for something she could contribute to the dinner so that she wouldn't arrive empty-handed. Her eyes landed on the loaf of banana bread she had intended to take to Martha and Mickey's place for breakfast that weekend and she shrugged to herself. She could always just make another one.

She covered the foil pan with some saran wrap and after a quick shower and a change of clothes, she was out the door. Twenty minutes later, the cab was pulling up to the curb of a quaint little two story house just north of Grove Park. Rose offered a brief thank you to the driver as she passed him a few notes and then stepped out of the car into the chilly evening air. As she began to make her way up the drive she caught sight of Wilf standing next to a set of bushes that lined the front porch. He was wearing a dark green sweater and two sets of reindeer antlers, one red and green with little flashing lights and a second that was just a plain dark brown on top of a red knit cap and he seemed to be having an argument with a strand of Christmas lights that was refusing to dislodge itself from the small branches no matter how much he tugged on it.

"Need some help with that?" Rose called out, trying to suppress a giggle.

The startled look on Wilf's face as he spun towards her was quickly replaced with a warm smile. "Rose sweetheart, I'm so glad you made it and yes," he gestured behind him. "I could definitely use a hand here if you don't mind." He turned back towards the bushes and began tugging on the strand of lights once more. "I need to figure out where the bad bulb is but this section seems to be caught on something."

Rose crouched down beside him to reach into the brush with her smaller hand and disentangled the strand. "That seems to be sort of a normal standard for Christmas lights doesn't it?" she remarked as she got to her feet. "The ones in the most difficult position to reach always end up bein' the ones that burn out?"

Wilf chuckled in agreement. "Well, luckily it's only one color otherwise I'd have to check the entire string." He made a small noise of triumph as the blue bulbs flickered to life. "There we are, much better." he said as he began tucking the lights back into the bush.

Rose smiled at his childlike enthusiasm over his accomplishment and then glanced up at the colored lights adorning the house. "The place looks so beautiful. My mum always used to love decoratin' the flat for Christmas."

Wilf took in her wistful tone and expression and tried to choose his next words carefully. "Your parents, are they…still with you?"

Rose shook her head as she returned her attention to him. "My dad died in a car accident when I was a baby and a couple years ago, my mum went in for an operation and there were…" she paused taking a breath. "Complications."

"I'm sorry." Wilf said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Rose nodded, smiling sadly. "I don't really remember my dad but my mum used to tell me all sorts of stories about him so that I would know the kind of man he was. It was hard for her, but she did her best raisin' me on her own. This is the time of year I really miss her the most." Her eyes began to well up and she ducked her head for a moment trying to regain control of her emotions.

Wilf remained silent allowing her to continue at her own pace and after a few moments she was able to meet his eyes again.

"I…" her voice wavered for a moment and she took a breath, "I jus' want you to know that I think all of you are amazin'. Jack is lucky to have such a wonderful family and I would never want anythin' to jeopardize that relationship."

Wilf took her hand in his, squeezing gently. "I know you wouldn't."

"Rose?" They both turned towards the door to see Sylvia standing there, eyes wide with excitement. "Everyone," she called back over her shoulder. "Rose is here!"

Wilf and Rose shared an amused grin as he let go of her hand to finish rearranging the lights and she moved towards the porch.

"Dad, will you quit fiddling with those lights and come inside." Sylvia chided as she came out to meet her. "You're gonna freeze to death."

"Well fine then, if that happens then you can just use my frozen carcass as a lawn ornament to scare off the neighborhood kids." He turned back to Rose. "What do you think of this?"

He held his arms out in front of him, his hands reaching out menacingly and bared his teeth in a manner that seemed to be somewhat of a cross between Frankenstein and a giant Grizzly bear on its hind legs.

Rose snorted softly, one hand coming up to cover her mouth as Sylvia rolled her eyes and ushered them both up the steps towards the door where Donna was waiting.

After giving Rose a quick hug hello, Donna wrapped her arm around Wilf's. "Come on gramps, you can help me in the kitchen."

"And don't let him spike the eggnog." Sylvia warned before pointing her finger at Wilf. "I mean it dad."

Wilf held up his hands in surrender before following his granddaughter into the living room and Sylvia shook her head.

"That man, I swear." She turned back to Rose and shut the door behind her. "Here, let me take your coat."

Rose shrugged out of the garment and Sylvia took it from her, hanging it on the rack beside the door.

"I um," Rose stammered. "I brought you some banana bread." She held the small loaf out to her in offering. "It was my mum's recipe."

"Oh that is so sweet of you." Sylvia gushed. "It will be perfect for breakfast in the morning."

Rose froze. "Breakfast?"

"Well of course. We're going to have a proper Christmas and there's no reason for you to be traveling home so late tonight when you can just as easily stay here. Our other son John isn't supposed to be home until tomorrow night so you can use his room."

"Oh, um" Rose fidgeted uncomfortably. "I really can't 'cause I have to work in the mornin'."

"Nonsense." Sylvia cut her off. "We can make sure you have plenty of time to get to work in the morning, so there's absolutely no reason why you can't stay."

Rose opened her mouth to argue, but once again couldn't come up with a single valid excuse and Sylvia knew it too, judging by the smile slowly spreading across her face. Damn she was good.

"Come on then. Everyone's in here." Sylvia said, guiding her through the archway and into the spacious living room. "We're gonna do presents first."

As they stepped inside Wilf and Donna came out of the kitchen, each carrying a small tray.

"Eggnog anyone?" Wilf asked and Sylvia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Ignoring her scrutinizing gaze, Wilf walked over to Rose and she took a glass from the proffered tray. "She wouldn't let me spike the bowl but she didn't say anything about individual glasses." he whispered conspiratorially with a wink. "Let me know if it needs more kick."

Rose took a small sip and choked back a cough, shaking her head. "No, S' good."

Grinning brightly, Wilf patted her shoulder and then made his way over to Geoff. While the family was getting settled, Rose took a moment to observe her surroundings. A beautiful evergreen stood in the corner decked out in colorful lights and gold garland and adorned with ornaments that looked like they had been passed down from generation to generation along with a handful of others that were of a handmade, childlike quality, most likely the work of a very young Jack, John, and Donna and atop the tree was a silver star that seemed to shimmer and sparkle in the artificial light. The stockings on the fireplace were hung in a row across the mantle and towards the end; right next to the one labeled Jack was a pink stocking with the Rose's name emblazoned in gold lettering across the white fur trim. As Rose stared at the stocking, she felt her heart clench in her chest and she choked back a sob because their sweet gesture only served as a reminder that it was gonna be that much harder once Jack came out of the coma.

"Rose," Sylvia called out, pulling her from her thoughts. "Come over here by the tree. We're gonna take a picture."

Rose looked back at her, poised to argue again but knowing it would do no good, she set her glass down and moved to join them in front of the tree. Sylvia positioned her in the center next to Donna while she and Geoff stood just behind them as they waited for Wilf to get the camera ready. After setting the timer he hurried over to the group and crouched down in front of them, arms spread wide and a huge grin on his face.

"Everyone smile like you're having a good time." he ordered.

It took three more tries to get a picture where half of them weren't doubled over in laughter before they were able to move on to the gift exchange. Rose sat back, silently sipping her eggnog as she watched them tear into the packages with childlike glee and smiled in amusement. She had never had this sort of full family dynamic before and while it was something she had longed for growing up, not having that experience had also made her appreciate her mother's presence in her life that much more. Now that Jackie was gone, she filled her time with work and a few good friends but it wasn't the same. But being here tonight with Jack's family, them allowing her to be a part of this special occasion, it was the first time in a long while that she had truly started to feel like she wasn't alone. Rose was pulled from her thoughts once more as a large red package with a green bow was set in her lap and she looked up to see Donna smiling down at her.

"This is from all of us to you." she explained before cupping the side of her mouth with her hand and whispering. "I picked it out though."

Rose didn't know what to say. She certainly hadn't been expecting a gift and with the short notice of the invite she hadn't had time to get any either. As though she could read her thoughts, Donna shook her head reassuringly and smiled again.

"Just open it."

Rose's gaze shifted to her left to see the rest of the family watching her with anticipation so she quickly tore through the wrapping and lifted the lid of the box inside to find the most beautiful multi-colored knitted scarf and a pair of silver hoop earrings."

"Oh," she breathed out, running a hand over the soft material before meeting the eyes of the family. "S' beautiful. Thank you so much." As the tears began to well in her eyes she looked back down at the scarf trying to regain control as Donna knelt down beside her to wrap her in a hug.

"Merry Christmas sis." Donna murmured in her ear, giving her another squeeze before standing up and handing the next present from under the tree to Wilf.

It was all Rose could do not to break down at that moment and by the time all the gifts had been unwrapped and dinner was finished she was so exhausted that she was partially grateful that Sylvia had convinced her to stay the night.

After saying her goodnights to the family, she followed Donna up the staircase across from the entryway to the room she would be using for the night.

"This is John's room." Donna said, stopping in front of the door. "He still uses it on occasion when he comes to visit so my parents haven't changed anything." She took hold of the doorknob but paused mid-turn. "And just to prepare you, my brother's kind of a science nerd so there'll probably be a lot of geeky stuff in there. Anyway, here you go." Donna opened the door and flicked on the light. "And if you need anything at all, I'm just two doors down." She gestured behind her.

Rose offered the redhead an appreciative smile. "Thanks Donna."

The two women shared a hug as they said their goodnights and then Donna headed down the hall and Rose stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

John's room was relatively clean, a little dusty in places but that was to be expected since the room wasn't used often. The walls were adorned with posters of various cities around the world and there was a large globe sitting on top of the bureau. The bed was covered by a dark midnight blue comforter and there were plastic stars stuck to the ceiling. Smiling to herself, she began to scan the room for any photos that could put a face to the man responsible for the décor, but after a quick check of the closet and a few of the drawers she came up empty-handed, mentally chastising herself for snooping as she shut off the light and fell back onto the bed. The plastic stars on the ceiling began to slowly illuminate the darkness and she found herself suddenly feeling calmer than she had in days as she stared up at them, allowing their soft glow to soothe her to sleep.

 **-** **oOo-**

John Noble pulled into to his parents' driveway a little after one in the morning. The house was completely dark save for the light on the porch and he paused a moment to take in the sight. With the amount of traveling he had been doing in between his dissertation and the time spent acquiring new pieces for his father's store he didn't get home as often as he'd like so he relished the holidays.

After unlocking the door, he stepped inside and quietly shut and locked it behind him before making his way to the kitchen. He hadn't had a chance to stop for dinner during the long drive and he was feeling quite ravenous. Eying the loaf of bread sitting on the counter he picked it up and held it to his nose inhaling deeply. The scent of banana filled his senses and he hummed contently. Unwrapping it from the cellophane, he grabbed a knife and cut a large slice groaning in pleasure after taking a bite. He moved to grab a glass from the cabinet and made his way over to the fridge for some milk when the light in the kitchen came on and he turned to see a perturbed looking redhead standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"You dumbo!" Donna hissed, stalking over and smacking him on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming in this morning instead of later tonight?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise." John replied defensively, wincing as he rubbed his arm.

Donna placed her hands on her hips and gave him a skeptical look. "You're sneaking in at one in the morning while everyone's asleep. How is that a surprise?"

He shrugged. "Figured I'd take a quick kip in my old room and then just be sitting in here at the table when everyone comes down for breakfast."

He grinned brightly and Donna rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, whatever, but you're gonna have to take your quick kip on the couch 'cause we put Rose in your room."

John's brows furrowed in confusion. "Who's Rose?"

"Jack's fiancé." Donna said slowly, a smile tugging at her lips as she waited to gauge his reaction.

"Jack's getting married?" he all but shouted.

"Oi Spaceman!" Donna smacked him on the arm again. "You're gonna wake everyone up yelling like that."

"Well excuse me for being surprised." he shot back. "When did this happen?"

"Well we're not exactly sure when they got engaged, but we met Rose right after the accident."

"And you didn't think to pick up the phone and call me?" John asked incredulously.

"Oi! I called to let you know about the accident, but mum and dad wanted to wait till you got back to tell you. Besides, it's not like we had any foresight into this. He didn't tell us either. We were just as surprised as you are."

John shook his head and took another bite of bread. "I just can't believe it."

"You know, that banana bread was supposed to be for breakfast." Donna piped up, nodding towards the loaf on the counter before looking pointedly at his hand.

Swallowing, John glanced down at the half eaten piece he was holding and then grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I was hungry and it smelled really good. Think mum will be mad about having to make another one?"

"Actually Rose made it."

"Really?" His brows lifted in surprise. This Rose was getting more and more intriguing by the minute.

"Yeah, and you better be on your best behavior in the morning mister." She poked him hard in the chest. "Rose is a wonderful person so don't let me catch you being rude to her, got it?"

John held his hands up in defense and grinned. "I'll be nice. I promise."

Donna gave him another skeptical look. "Mmm hmm. Alright, well I'm gonna turn in. I'll see you in the morning and you can tell me all about your trip."

His smile faltered a bit. "Yeah, sounds good."

Donna eyed him questioningly but didn't press the matter, instead giving him a hug before heading off to her room.

John finished off his snack and then retreated to the living room. Plopping down on the couch, he removed his converse and then shifted onto his back, arms crossed beneath his head. He had already had a lot of things on in his mind, things he still hadn't had the courage to sit down and talk to his father about and now to hear that Jack was getting married. He shook his head in disbelief. This Rose must be something if she had finally managed to get Jack to settle down and John's curiosity was beyond piqued. He glanced down at his watch. Only six more hours till everyone would be getting up for breakfast. Sighing he lay back and closed his eyes, willing sleep to take him. Morning couldn't come soon enough.

 **-** **oOo-**

The alarm on Rose's phone woke her at a quarter till seven. Since she had allowed Sylvia to talk her into staying the night, she needed the extra time to get home, shower and change before she had to be at work. She had even scheduled a cab the night before just to be safe and it was set to arrive in less than ten minutes. Gathering her things, she draped her new multi-colored scarf around her neck and quietly made her way down the stairs. Pulling her coat from the rack in the entryway she quickly slipped it on and reached for the doorknob.

"Hello."

Startled Rose whirled around to face the source of the greeting, clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle the small gasp that escaped her throat.

The owner of the voice quickly set down the paper he had been reading, slipping the black square-rimmed frames from his face as he stood up and tucked them into the pocket of his dark blue button down oxford.

"Hello." she returned after a moment, trying to calm her racing heart. Only now she wasn't so sure if the galloping in her chest was caused by the brief moment of fright or by the sight of the man now making his way towards her with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.

There was no doubt in Rose's mind that he was obviously Jack's brother, especially if the genetically rugged handsome good looks were anything to go by. He was in his late twenties, maybe early thirties with warm brown eyes, sideburns and short chocolate locks that stuck up in all directions as though he had been continuously running his hands through them.

"You must be Rose."

She nodded. "Rose Tyler."

"Rose Tyler." John repeated slowly as though he was testing the words on his tongue and she had to suppress the unexpected pleasant chill that his voice sent through her.

"S' nice to finally meet you John." she said, hoping to ease some of her tension with small talk. "I've heard a lot about you."

"All good I hope." he chuckled. "Unless of course you talked to Donna." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly but then sobered a bit. "I'm sorry; I wish I could say the same about you but this engagement pretty much took me by surprise."

"Yeah, me too." she mumbled, glancing away.

John furrowed his brows, tilting his head forward slightly. "Sorry, what?"

"Nothin'."

The honking of a horn saved her from putting her foot in her mouth any further and she gave an inward sigh of relief as she began backing away from him.

"Sorry, that's my ride. I'll uh, see you around yeah?" she said, slipping out the door before he could respond.

John walked to the window and discreetly moved the curtain aside to watch Rose climb into the back of the cab. He wasn't quite sure what to make of her yet since their brief encounter didn't give him much time to ask the questions that would satisfy his curiosity. She definitely seemed nice enough, sweet, intelligent, and if he was honest with himself, extremely beautiful but still nothing like the normal girls Jack usually brought home and he suddenly found himself quite intrigued. Yes, he definitely wanted to discover the mystery that was Rose Tyler.

"Rose Tyler." he said aloud once more, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

John leaned back against the hard surface of the wooden bench and sighed inwardly. He had managed to make it about halfway through the Sunday morning mass before his wandering thoughts got the better of him and he had tuned out the minister completely. To his left Donna was discreetly checking her emails on her phone in between the pages of one of the hymn books while to his right on the opposite side of Geoff, Sylvia was once again elbowing Wilf in the side in an attempt to keep him awake during the sermon. Shaking his head in amusement he leaned towards his father, his curiosity demanding satisfaction.

"So exactly how serious is this whole engagement thing between Jack and Rose?" he whispered. "I mean, you and I both know that Jack's never been the type to want to settle down. He's not the marrying kind."

"People change." Geoff murmured out the side of his mouth while keeping his eyes forward. "And it's not like he tells us everything that's going on his life."

"Yeah, but this isn't like getting a new haircut or taking a new job." John pointed out. "This is life changing. You would think he'd have wanted his family to know at least."

Geoff shrugged. "You know firsthand how impulsive your brother can be. Sort of the same way you are with your traveling." He shot him a pointed look. "Never quite knowing where you'll end up next."

"That's different." John protested. "And a lot of that was for research on my dissertation."

"Well, it won't be too long before you're done with all that and back home for good." Geoff remarked as he returned his focus to the minister, missing the way John winced at the comment. "Oh, and great job on that estate sale by the way. I sold two pieces already and I think we should be able to make a really good profit out of the rest of the collection as well. I also perused the ads in the paper this morning and there's going to be another one up in Cardiff in a couple of weeks. I figure we could check that one out too."

"Oh, well actually I…"

"The shop's really thriving this year." Geoff continued over him. "Just think what it will be like when you finally take over."

John tugged his ear uncomfortably. "Yeah about that…"

"Can you two stop talking business for five minutes?" Sylvia whispered fiercely. "We're in church for god's sake."

Donna glanced up from her phone and arched an eyebrow. "Really mum?"

"Oh hush you." Sylvia scolded, her eyes flicking down towards her daughter's lap. "And put that phone away."

Donna rolled her eyes but complied as Sylvia straightened in her seat once more, shooting a glare at the man behind her who had just attempted to "shush" her.

John managed to maintain about two minutes of silence before becoming fidgety and the need to unburden his conscious took over. "Listen dad, about the shop…"

A loud snore erupted to his right, cutting him off as both he and Geoff glanced over to see Wilf sound asleep with his head tilted back and mouth hanging open. Sylvia, looking utterly mortified, elbowed him sharply in the side and he sprang upright in his seat yelping in alarm as the man seated behind Sylvia was immediately joined in shushing them by several other members of the surrounding congregation.

"I wasn't sleeping." Wilf protested. "I was just resting my eyes while listening to the sermon."

"You were snoring." Sylvia hissed, earning another round of hushing sounds followed by muffled laughter from Donna.

John groaned and tipped his head back in frustration.

"Welcome home Spaceman." Donna murmured in his ear.

 **-** **oOo-**

"I feel weird about keepin' Jack's stuff here." Rose said as she stood in the kitchen, rifling through the small box one of the nurses had given her on the way out of the hospital that morning. "I would have thought they would have given it to his family."

"Well, technically they thought they did." Mickey called back over his shoulder from his position on the couch. "You being his fiancée and all."

"Why are you here again?" Rose asked, glaring at the back of his head.

"'Cause Martha's on the nightshift tonight and needed to sleep and 'cause you love me and my invaluable companionship."

He leaned back to flash her a grin and she stuck out her tongue in response before returning her attention to the box.

Among the items there were various take out receipts; a large majority of them from a place called Jubilee Pizza, a set of keys; one of them hard plastic and square shaped with the letters BMW etched in the top, and a silver ipod nano. Turning it on, she scrolled through the various artists in his music collection. From the selections, it was clear that Jack had a fondness for big band and swing music. Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller seemed to be the favorite based upon the log record of how many times it had been played. Smiling softly Rose shut off the player and placed it back in the box, her eyes coming to rest on a crumpled brown paper sack tucked into the corner. Picking it up, she opened it and pulled out a small can of cat food that caused her brows to furrow in confusion for a moment before the implication registered.

"Oh my god." she gasped. "He's got a cat."

"What?" Mickey turned in his seat to look back at her.

"A cat." She held up the can of food where he could see it. "Jack has a cat and no one's been there to feed it in days. The poor little thing must be starvin' to death. M' gonna go check on it."

Stuffing the can of cat food back into the bag, she slipped Jack's keys into her pocket before grabbing her own and headed for the door.

"Need me to drive you?" Mickey asked, getting up from the couch.

"Nah, I'll take the tube." She nodded towards the TV as she shrugged into her coat. "Watch your match and lock up when you leave, yeah?"

Mickey saluted in response making her roll her eyes good-naturedly and shake her head before turning and heading out the door.

As she made her way down the stairs, Rose wrapped her multi-colored scarf around her neck and pulled on her fuchsia gloves before setting off towards the station. She had just rounded the block when a dark blue car pulled up in front of her building and out stepped John Noble.

 **-** **oOo-**

To say Jack's flat was posh would be an understatement. The three bedroom, two and a half bath with a private terrace sat nestled in the center of the top floor of a lavish seven story building in the southeast part of Camden overlooking Regents Park, and the minute Rose stepped inside she couldn't help feeling a bit overwhelmed. Pausing a moment to take in her surroundings, she marveled at how her entire flat could probably fit in his living room. The furniture was dark, sleek and masculine and he had quite a few paintings adorning the walls but what she found really surprising was how meticulously clean the place was. No errant bits of clothing or a stray pair of shoes lying around. If it wasn't for the fact that there wasn't a speck of dust on any surface she wouldn't have believed anyone was actually living there, making her wonder if Jack was the workaholic type that only used the flat to eat and sleep.

Shaking away her thoughts and reminding herself of the real purpose of her being there in the first place Rose headed for the kitchen, shifting her focus to finding and making sure Jack's cat was okay.

"Puss." she called out, shaking the bag in her hand. "Here puss. I've got some lovely food for you."

When she didn't receive a response she set the bag on the counter and made her way down the hall, continuing her attempts to coax the animal out of hiding as she poked her head into each of the bedrooms she passed. Frowning at the ongoing lack of response, she made her way back towards the living room only to let out a startled shriek as soon as she stepped into it before clamping a hand over her mouth. Surprised by her reaction, John stumbled backwards in response, tripping over the ottoman and landing hard on his bum as the back of his head slammed into the wall behind him.

After taking a few seconds to recover from her shock, Rose dropped her hand from her mouth and immediately rushed to his aid.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" she asked dropping down beside him.

John winced as she helped him into a sitting position, his hand moving to the back of his head to lightly massage away the throbbing pain as small white spots danced in front of his eyes.

"Oh yeah," he replied, trying to sound casual. "I'm always alright. Plus I'm used to seeing stars in my line of work."

Rose snorted softly. "Well, M' glad you're okay. Can't say the same for the wall though."

Following her gaze, he glanced over his shoulder to see a softball sized dent in the hard white plaster and then turned back to give her a lopsided smile.

"Weeell, my family has told me I'm quite hard headed. Good thing too I guess."

Rose giggled and gave him a tongue in tooth grin that made his heart flutter in his chest and he had to look away for a moment in order to tamp down the sensation.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." he said once he was able to meet her eyes again.

"No. S' okay. I jus' wasn't expectin' anyone to be here. If I knew you were checkin' on the cat I wouldn't have come by."

"Cat?" John scoffed. "Jack would never own a cat he's a dog person."

A soft meowing had them both glancing over her shoulder to see an orange tabby cat poke its head around the corner.

"Oh there you are puss." Rose cooed as she got to her feet. "You poor thing, you must be starvin'. How about some dinner, yeah?"

Upon hearing the word 'dinner' the cat came right to her, purring and meowing as she pulled it into her arms. After sneaking a quick glance at the tag on his collar, she carried him into the kitchen and set him down on the counter.

While Rose busied herself with opening the can of food, John pushed himself up from the floor and braced a hand against the wall to allow the wave of dizziness to pass before moving across the room to join her. She was setting the can on the counter just as he stepped up beside her and he stared down at the cat as it tucked into its meal in quiet disbelief.

"John this is Louis, Louis this is John." Rose said as she stroked the cat's back lovingly.

John raised a brow in response to her introduction but the cat remained unfazed, his sole focus on devouring his dinner.

"So, if you didn't know about the cat what are you doin' here?" Rose asked after a few moments of silence.

"Looking for you actually." he replied, tugging lightly on his left ear.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I uh, I stopped by your flat and met your friend Rickey..."

"Mickey." she corrected.

"Hmm?"

"His name's Mickey."

"Oh sorry, Mickey then." he continued. "He seems…nice. Although, he did question me for ten minutes before finally telling me you were headed over here."

Rose smirked a little at that. "He's very protective."

"Yeah I could see that."

"So um," she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and turned to look at him. "Why were you lookin' for me?"

John's hand moved to the back of his neck, rubbing somewhat nervously. "Weeell, I just thought that since the rest of the family has already had the chance to get to know you a bit, maybe you and I should grab lunch or something and get to know one another as well." He shrugged. "If you want."

"Oh." Rose blew out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Um, yeah sure that would be nice."

"Great." John nodded in agreement as he felt a blush creeping up his cheeks and quickly shifted the subject back to Jack. "So," he cleared his throat. "You have a key but don't live together?"

Rose's face fell and she looked away, not liking where this line of questioning might be leading.

"Um, well no. We thought it was better to wait. For the most part, I jus' come by to feed the cat."

Before he could question her further the phone started ringing and she inwardly praised whoever it was that chose that exact moment to call. Moving around the counter, she picked up the receiver like it was her lifeline.

"Hello?"

Rose felt her face grow hot as she tried to keep her focus on the woman's voice on the other end of the line and looked up to see John watching her in contemplation. Although slightly unnerved by his scrutiny, she attempted a smile and held up her pointer finger to signal she was almost done. Once she finished with the call, she hung up the phone and turned back to him.

"That was your mum. The hospital asked if we'd be willin' to donate blood. She said the rest of the family is headed down there as well and if they're done before we get there, they'll be waitin' for us up in Jack's room."

"Right." John nodded, eyeing Louis one last time who was now polishing his whiskers contentedly. "We can go in my car if you want." he offered as he made his way around the counter and followed her to the front door. "Unless you would prefer to take Jack's."

"No, that's okay." Rose replied quickly, remembering Donna's comments about how Jack felt about his car. "He's very protective of his BMW let's jus' take yours."

"Alright, but you drive." he said tossing her the keys. "I'm still a little dizzy."

"Maybe we should have them take a look at your head while we're there." she suggested.

"Why? You worried that when you caused me to fall I might have damaged this brilliant, amazing brain of mine?" John teased.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You jus' think you're so impressive don't you?"

"I am so impressive." he replied, slightly affronted.

"Okay, how many fingers am I holdin' up then?" she asked as she stepped out into the hall.

"Cheeky." he replied over her laughter as he pulled the door shut behind him.

The soft click of the lock filled the silence of the empty flat and their muffled banter carried on down the hall becoming fainter and fainter with each step, just out of range of the sound of the ringing phone by mere seconds. After the fourth ring, the answering machine kicked on.

 _"Hey, it's Jack. Leave me a message and I'll call you back."_

The message ended with a short beep and a woman's thick French accent filled the air.

"Jack darling, it's Jeanne. I just wanted to let you know I'll be flying back from Paris next week. I found some lovely venues while I've been here that I think would be just perfect for the reception. Give me a call when you get in my angel. Kisses."

 **-** **oOo-**

"So how long have you and Jack been together?" John asked as they made their way down the hall to the ICU.

Rose smiled fondly. "We met about a year ago."

"Really, a whole year?" John's brows arched in surprise. "So then how long was it before you got engaged?"

Rose tucked a lock of hair behind her ear trying not to sound as uncomfortable as she felt. "Oh, um, not long really. Why?"

"Just curious." John replied, casting her a sidelong glance. "I mean, it's just that Jack's never been in a relationship that's lasted longer than a couple of months so a year is…" he blew out a breath through pursed lips. "I just figured a milestone like that would have been something he would have wanted to make public."

"Oh, well actually…"

"There you are."

The pair looked up to see Donna standing next to Jack's room with her hands on her hips.

"Mum was fixing to send out a search party."

Exchanging a grin, they sped up their pace and followed Donna inside the room where she picked up her magazine and reclaimed her spot in one of the chairs beside Jack's bed. Across from her Sylvia looked up from the manicure she was giving her son and smiled warmly.

"Sorry we're late. After we finished donatin' blood this one," Rose gestured at John with her thumb as he stepped up behind her. "Got distracted by the shop in the lobby."

"Rose Tyler, I'll have you know that a little shop is a quality sign of a good hospital." John replied in mock offense as he made his way across the room and kissed his mother's cheek in greeting.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You love a little shop."

Rose grinned tongue in teeth and he beamed right back at her for a moment before his expression abruptly shifted into one of slight agitation and something else she couldn't quite name and he cleared his throat and looked away.

"Well it wouldn't have hurt to look around a bit, maybe get your fiancée here something to liven up his room a bit. I mean after being together for a year I'm sure you know all the types of things he likes don't you?" he asked, his tone sounding somewhat resentful.

Rose's teasing grin faltered. "Of course." she stammered, not quite sure what to make of his sudden change in demeanor.

"So then I'm sure you know things like his favorite food?" he asked, taking a step towards her, his eyes never leaving hers.

Inwardly, Rose began to panic and she blurted the first thing that came to mind. "Pizza! He's quite fond of the works from Jubilee's Pizza actually." she added remembering the receipts she had found among Jack's belongings.

John took another step forward. "Favorite type of music?"

"A mixture of swing and big band." she shot back, her irritation at his incessant questioning starting to get the better of her as she countered his move with a step forward of her own.

Rationally she knew John had every right to be suspicious of her, after all she had lied to everyone about her relationship with Jack and as time went on she felt as though the hole was growing deeper and deeper with no chance of her climbing her way out. But something about the way John's mood towards her kept shifting from friendly to standoffish rubbed her the wrong way. It was bad enough she seemed to get butterflies in her stomach whenever he was in close proximity and a smile from him could steal her breath. No. That was definitely not something she wanted to think about right now. She had enough to deal with as it is. It was better to stick with being angry.

"Favorite song?" he bit out taking yet another step.

"Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade."

Rose's final step had closed the distance between them and they now stood directly in front of one another, both breathing heavily as they each tried to stare the other down.

"Oi, Spaceman!"

Tearing his eyes away from Rose's, he glanced over his shoulder to see Donna and Sylvia staring at him as though he'd lost his mind.

Geoff and Wilf who had been playing chess on a small table set up against the back wall had abandoned their game and looked equally as taken aback, although Wilf's expression seemed to be slightly more apprehensive.

"What the hell do you think you're doing grilling her with questions like that?" Donna growled, stalking towards John. "She doesn't have to prove herself to you."

"I'm just trying to get some straight answers." he replied testily.

"No," Donna cut him off. "You're trying to figure her out like she's one of your little science experiments and I'm putting an end to it." She turned to Rose with an apologetic look. "Rose, on behalf of my rude idiot of a brother here, I'd like to apologize."

Rose smiled ruefully and shook her head. "No, S' fine. I get it." She didn't dare meet John's eyes, half afraid of what she might see there and half afraid that she might give in to the tears prickling at the back of her eyes so instead she backed towards the door hoping no one would try to stop her. "M' jus' gonna go. S' been a long day."

Donna nodded sympathetically and after a small wave to the rest of the family Rose turned and left the room. As soon as she was out of sight, Donna exchanged a meaningful look with her mother and then shuffled John out of the room and into the empty one right next to it, smacking his upper arm with the back of her hand as soon as they stepped inside.

"Ow!" he cried out in pain and surprise.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouted. "Isn't it enough that she saved your brother's life?"

John looked up at her in confusion as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm. "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't mum tell you what happened at the station?"

"No, she just said he'd fallen off the platform."

Donna tossed her head to the side, rolling her eyes. "Some random hooligans tried to mug him and pushed him off the platform." She pointed towards the doorway, her opposite hand coming to rest on her waist. "And that amazing, spunky little blonde you continue to be rude to jumped onto the tracks in front of the oncoming tube and rolled him to safety."

"She what?" he shouted and Donna clamped a hand over his mouth, smiling apologetically at the nurses that had been passing by the door who stopped to stare at them upon hearing his outburst. Pushing her hand away, he lowered his voice. "She could have been killed."

"Yes Dumbo, I know. That's the point I'm making. She risked her life to save Jack and as a reward she gets you treating her like she's some sort of criminal. You know, I'm really starting to think you missed your calling as a DI."

John's anger was immediately extinguished by Donna's words leaving an unpleasant sensation in the pit of his stomach as guilt and remorse crashed over him in waves. Knowing that Rose could have actually been hurt or killed made him feel physically ill and now after being presented with the revelation of what she had done for his family, he couldn't even remember why he had been so angry with her in the first place. Or at least, he wouldn't admit to why he had been angry at her because the truth was he wasn't really angry with her at all. He was angry with himself. Rose was unlike anyone he had ever met and just being around her made him feel things he had no right in feeling. What the hell was wrong with him? She was his brother's fiancée for god sakes and yet all he could think about as they stood there in Jack's room, staring one another down, was how badly he wanted to pull her against him and snog her senseless.

Groaning inwardly, he ran a hand over his face as he suddenly became aware that Donna had been talking the entire time. "You're right." he said quietly, interrupting her mid rant.

Donna's mouth snapped shut and she stared at him in bewilderment for a moment, clearly surprised by his assent. She opened her mouth to speak again, seemingly unable to decide how to respond before she settled on "What?"

John sighed. "I said you're right. I'll go see her and apologize."

"You better." she poked him hard in the chest. "Rose is the first woman either of you two plonkers have brought home that we actually like."

"Oi! Joan wasn't that bad." he protested halfheartedly.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Joan was a snob and you only went out with her for like a week in college. I wouldn't exactly call that a real relationship. Now," she shoved him towards the door. "First you're gonna go apologize to mum and dad and then you're going straight over to Rose's flat to apologize to her. Got it?"

John paused in the doorway. "What if she won't talk to me?"

"She will. "Cause unlike you,, she's not a complete git. Now quit stalling and shift."

"Okay, okay." He held his hands up in a placating manner. "I'm going. Geez you're bossy. You're starting to sound like mum."

"Oi!"

John lightly massaged the stinging sensation on the back of his head as Donna swept past him. He really shouldn't have been surprised. As soon as the words left his mouth he knew there were going to be repercussions. He really wished she would have gone for his arm again though, because at this rate the bump on the back of his head was never going away.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5**

"This whole thing is turnin' into an absolute nightmare." Rose grumbled, handing Mickey a beer as she plopped down onto the couch beside him.

After giving him a rundown of what had happened at the hospital, Rose was both physically and emotionally exhausted. In fact, she wanted nothing more than to put the entire day and the whole confrontation between herself and John behind her. She was still bewildered by his continuous hot and cold act with her. One minute it seemed as though they were finally starting to get along and the next he was back to being a rude, irritating, and insufferable git. Taking a deep breath, she once again had to remind herself that it wasn't his fault and he had every right to be suspicious. If she had just told the truth to begin with she wouldn't be in this mess and now with each day that passed, she was just digging that hole a little bit deeper.

Mickey seemed to sense her inner turmoil but before he could comment on it, there was a knock at the door. Turning towards the sound he arched a questioning brow at Rose who shrugged in response and set her beer down on the table before getting up to answer it.

"Who is it?" she called out as she neared the door.

"It's Wilf. Wilf Noble."

Rose glanced back at Mickey anxiously and quickly unlocked the door.

"Wilf?" she questioned worriedly as the door swung open and she searched his face for any signs of distress. "What is it? Is somethin' wrong? Is it Jack?"

"No, no." he smiled reassuringly. "Jack's fine. I actually came to see you." he paused, suddenly looking slightly apprehensive. "Could I come in for a moment?"

"Oh yes, of course. Come in." Rose stepped aside and gestured for him to enter.

He nodded in thanks, slipping his red knit cap from his head as he moved past her and started for a moment when he saw Mickey stand up. "Oh, I didn't realize you had company." he apologized.

"S' alright." Rose gestured towards her friend as he came around the couch towards them. "This is my best mate Mickey. He and I grew up together here on the estate."

Wilf extended his hand and Mickey shook it. "Nice to meet you young man."

"Likewise." Mickey replied with a smile.

"Would you like to sit down?" Rose asked, gesturing towards the couch. "Or can I get you somethin' to drink?"

"No," Wilf shook his head. "That's alright. I actually came by because…" he paused again, looking down at his hands which had been nervously fiddling with his knit cap and Rose felt her trepidation rise another notch. "Rose, sweetheart there's something I need to tell you. The other night, when you visited Jack I had come by to see him as well and…I heard you talking to him."

Rose felt her stomach drop and a cold chill began to spread throughout her body as her eyes locked on Mickey's and she tried to remember how to breathe.

"Oh god Wilf, M' so sorry." she whispered after a few moments, hanging her head contritely. "I never meant for any of this to happen and I never wanted to lie to any of you. S' jus' that when we were all at the hospital, everythin' happened so fast and I completely lost control of the entire situation and didn't know how to fix it. You have no idea how badly I've wanted to tell you all the truth."

"But I advised her not to." Mickey spoke up in her defense. "I thought it would be better to wait until she had a chance to talk to Jack and explain."

"Good idea."

Rose blinked and shook her head in disbelief as she watched Mickey and Wilf share a look of understanding.

"M' sorry what?"

Turning to face her, Wilf smiled softly. "Rose, when we found out about Jack's accident the entire family was completely distraught. But after meeting you it felt like a weight had been lifted off our shoulders. Just having you around makes that horrible accident less painful for all of us. You were selflessly willing to sacrifice your wellbeing to save my grandson's life and for that you have my eternal gratitude." He reached up and brushed a tear back from her cheek. "Oh sweetheart, I know you didn't do any of this out of malice or for any kind of ill-gotten gain. You're a good person with a good heart. We've all seen it. And I think your friend's right." He nodded towards Mickey. "I think it would be a much better idea for you to wait until Jack wakes up. I'm sure once you've explained the situation to him you can both come up with a way to smooth everything over. Although if you want my opinion, seeing as how you've known each other for a year and he hasn't made a move, I'm hoping he got some sense knocked into him after that accident 'cause he'd have to be a complete nutter to let you get away now."

Rose snorted softly and gave him a small smile that quickly dissolved into a frown again. "But what about John?"

"Oh, don't you worry about John," Wilf waved his hand dismissively. "He's always been inquisitive ever since he was a lad. Never one to pass up a mystery he can't seem to solve, that one. It's great for his work but not so much in interacting with others. Donna had him pretty well sorted before I left the hospital so I don't think he'll be asking anymore questions."

Rose nodded, wishing she could feel reassured by his words as she attempted another small smile. It was just hard to imagine that after the way John had been grilling her over every little detail of hers and Jack's 'relationship' since the moment they met, that he would be able to let the matter drop so easily.

"Well, I better go." Wilf said, pulling her from her thoughts as he moved towards the entryway. "If I'm late for dinner, Sylvia will send out a search party." They all chuckled at that as Wilf tugged on his wool cap. "It was nice meeting you Mickey."

"And you sir." Mickey replied with a nod.

"And I'll see you Tuesday for dinner." he told Rose, blowing her a quick kiss as he turned to leave.

After exchanging goodnights with the pair, Wilf headed down the walkway towards the stairs. He had just pulled his gloves from his pocket and was in the process of slipping them on when he heard a familiar voice call out "Gramps," and looked up to see John walking towards him, surprise coloring his features.

"What are you doing here?" John asked.

"I came by to see Rose." Wilf paused, arching an inquisitive brow. "What are you doing here?"

John shrugged trying to maintain a look of nonchalance as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and began rocking back and forth on his feet. "Same."

Wilf's eyes narrowed. "Now don't you be starting any more trouble John David Noble." he chided, waving his pointer finger at him. "Rose is a very special girl and we don't need you making her feel any more uncomfortable or unwelcome in this family than you already have."

John pulled his hands from his pockets and held them up in a placating manner. "I'm not. Honestly I'm not." he swore as he took in the skeptical look on his granddad's face. "I just came to apologize and drop of mum and dad's gift."

Wilf regarded him carefully, his expression softening a bit as he took in the sincerity in John's eyes. "Good boy." he conceded, reaching up to pat him lightly on the cheek. "I'll see you at home then."

"Yeah." John nodded his agreement and watched as Wilf descended the stairs before turning and heading down the walkway to Rose's flat.

Pausing in front of the door, he quickly straightened his oxford and coat and then glanced around him to make sure no one was watching before leaning forward to check his reflection in the window. He carded a hand through his hair, tousling it a bit and then ran his tongue along his front teeth as he tilted his head from side to side. Nodding to himself in approval he stood up, took a deep breath and knocked.

"If you're lookin' for your granddad, he jus' left." Rose said by way of greeting as the door swung open.

John was momentarily taken aback by her agitated tone and the guarded look in her eyes as he suddenly began to understand just how much he had upset her back at the hospital. After a few seconds of silence had passed he realized she was still waiting for a response and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and cleared his throat. "Actually I'm um, here to see you."

"Oh." she crossed her arms and eyed him warily. "Why's that?"

He looked down at the carpet, tugging lightly on his ear. "I um, I wanted to apologize for earlier and…" he trailed off as he saw Mickey approaching them. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you had company."

"I was just leaving." Mickey informed him before turning to Rose. "Martha will be home in an hour and it's my turn to pick up dinner so I better head out."

"Okay." Rose pulled her friend into a hug. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, yeah?"

Mickey nodded as he pulled away and turned towards the door.

"Mickey." John addressed the younger man in greeting as he passed by.

Mickey paused for a moment to size John up and then meeting his eyes; he pointed two fingers at his own and then one back at John in a silent warning before giving Rose a firm nod and stepping out the door.

"Blimey, you weren't kidding about that whole protective vibe." John said, rubbing the back of his neck again as Rose bit her bottom lip to stifle a giggle. Swallowing roughly, he turned back to her. "Look, about what happened earlier at the hospital…"

"S' okay." she cut in. "Let's jus' forget about it yeah?"

"No." he replied firmly, shaking his head. "I owe you an apology. I was completely out of line."

Rose stared back at him in surprise, not quite sure how to respond. "Um, thank you." she said after a moment, the apology helping to ebb away some of the tension she had been overwhelmed by for most of the day.

He nodded and another few seconds of awkward silence passed between them before he remembered his other reason for being there. "I uh, I also brought you an engagement present."

Rose groaned inwardly. "You really didn't need to do that."

"Weeell, actually it's not really from me. It's from my parents. It's a standing replica of Big Ben. It chimes and everything." He gestured back over his shoulder with his thumb. "I've got it down in the van if you want me to bring it up."

"Oh, uh," Rose faltered for a moment. Things were complicated enough as it was and she definitely did not need another daily reminder of that fact sitting in the middle of her living room. "Actually, it would probably be better if you took it to Jack's place."

John nodded, trying to hide his disappointment at the obvious dismissal. "Right. Um, okay. Well I guess I'll see you later then." he said turning to leave.

"Wait!" Rose blurted, stopping him in his tracks and surprising herself in the process. "Um," she lowered her gaze as she fiddled with her hoop earring. "I could go with you if you want. I mean, you know in case you need help unloadin' it or somethin'."

"Oh I'd love you to come." John breathed out in a rush.

Rose felt her cheeks heat up at his blunt statement and as their eyes met John's widened somewhat comically and he immediately began to backtrack as he tugged lightly on his ear.

"I mean, that is to say, it would be great to have some help. Not that the clock is too heavy for me to handle or anything. I'm actually quite strong even if I don't look it. Plus I have a sack barrow in the van. But an extra set of hands to help open doors and things is always good so…" He glanced up to see Rose chewing her lower lip, her eyes dancing with amusement and it immediately put an end to his rambling. "Um, yeah that would be good." he finished quietly, a blush creeping up his cheeks as he tucked his hands in his pockets.

"Okay." Rose agreed, trying to tamp down the fluttering sensation in her stomach. "I'll jus' get my keys."

 **-oOo-**

They kept the conversation light on the ride over to Jack's. John's apology had managed to reduce most of the tension between them but they were both still leery about saying anything that might inadvertently upset the other. Sticking mainly to topics such as the weather and what his family had planned for New Year's seemed to help ease them back into a playful banter and by the time they reached Camden it was almost as if the argument had never happened.

When they pulled up to Jack's building, John put the van in park and quickly clambered out of the vehicle before Rose had even finished unbuckling her seatbelt. She lifted a brow at his strange behavior, shaking her head as she turned to reach for the handle only to have the door swing away from her as John opened it from the other side and stepped forward, holding out his hand to her.

"The door on this side tends to stick." he explained, wiggling his fingers invitingly.

Rose smiled softly and swung her legs towards him as she scooted to the edge of the seat. Reaching out she slipped her hand into his and felt her palm tingle with electricity. _'Perfect fit'_ she thought to herself as her thumb brushed his knuckles. It was almost as if their hands had been created to hold one another and she could help but wonder if he too had felt that same jolt of electricity the moment they touched. She glanced up at him then in order to gauge his reaction and judging by the look on his face there was no doubt in her mind. He had felt it too.

"Right then." he cleared his throat, bringing them both back to the present as he gently tugged her forward only to drop her hand as soon as her feet hit the ground. "Let's get this thing unloaded shall we?"

Rose watched as he scampered off towards the back of the van and took a moment to collect herself before following him. He was already unlocking the back doors as she came around the side so she moved behind him to give him room.

"Ready to see your present?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder at her and wagging his eyebrows.

"Ready." she grinned, giggling softly.

Turning back towards the van he grabbed hold of the handles and pulled open the doors to reveal a perfectly detailed standing replica of Big Ben. "Ta Da!" he shouted, with a wave of his hand.

"S' beautiful." Rose murmured, moving closer to get a better look.

"It also has a lighting feature and along with the main bell, it plays Westminster Quarters on the quarter hour." John said, stepping up beside her. "Just like the real thing."

Rose reached up to run her fingertips along the clock face in front of her, marveling at the intricate detail when she noticed John was staring at her again.

"What?" she asked, trying to keep from blushing.

"Hmm?" John shook his head as though to clear it. "Oh, nothing. I'm just glad you like it. We should probably go ahead and take it upstairs though, in case it decides to start snowing again."

"You sure you can handle it?" she teased as he climbed into the van to retrieve the sack barrow. "It looks pretty heavy."

John arched a brow, casting Rose a mock glare. "Like I said earlier it's not that heavy and even if it was I can assure you that I am quite capable of handling a bit of heavy lifting." he informed her as he lowered the sack barrow to the ground and hopped out after it. "I am in excellent shape."

Rose rolled her eyes good-naturedly, a smile playing on her lips. "You jus' think you're so impressive."

"I'll have you know Ms. Tyler that I am very impressive." His voice dropped an octave as he emphasized the last two words making Rose's face flush as she ducked her head and with a satisfied smirk he turned back to the van to start unloading the clock.

 **-oOo-**

John had been right about the clock being much lighter than it looked and with the help of the sack barrow it only took them about ten minutes to get it out of the van and up to Jack's flat.

"I know right where to put it too." John announced as Rose propped open the door and allowed him to wheel past.

He made his way across the room towards the section of the wall containing the head shaped dent he had created earlier that day and positioned the clock right in front of it, concealing the damage instantly.

"Whadd'ya think?" he asked once it was in place.

Rose stepped up beside him, folding her arms across her chest and tilted her head in contemplation for a moment before grinning up at him. "Perfect." she said poking her tongue through her teeth.

After John did a spot check of the carpet to make sure they hadn't tracked in anything and Rose had fed Louis, the pair locked up and made their way back downstairs.

"I don't know about you, but I'm a bit peckish." John said as they stepped outside. "Would you like to grab a bite with me? There's a really great little chippy just around the corner. My treat." he added as though he could sense her uncertainty.

Rose hesitated for a moment, debating. Although they were on much better terms now, everything that had happened between them earlier that day was still weighing heavily upon her and she wasn't quite sure just how long they could possibly stretch a conversation about the weather before things started to become awkward again. She opened her mouth, poised to decline his offer but when she looked up into his warm brown eyes; pleading with intensity, the rejection immediately died on her lips.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." she conceded, offering him a smile.

John rocked back on his feet, grinning broadly. "Okay, let me just put this in the van." he gestured to the sack barrow. "I thought maybe we could walk since it's not far." he called over his shoulder. "If that's okay?"

"Fine by me." she replied following behind him.

After loading the sack barrow into the van John turned to Rose and held up his arm, extending his elbow towards her. "Allons-y Rose Tyler."

Rose giggled softly, slipping her arm through his and allowed him to lead her down the street. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes with John occasionally stealing sidelong glances at her while she pretended not to notice in an attempt to keep from feeling flustered when he suddenly spoke up.

"Rose, can I ask you something?"

The question in itself sounded somewhat loaded and Rose immediately tensed up. The words 'here we go again' began running rampant in her mind as a wave of dread coiled in the pit of her stomach and she pulled away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. John seemed to realize at the same moment how the question must have come across and he stopped walking, an apology already on his lips.

"Rose, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound like I was going to start interrogating you again." John looked away and began rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Look, you don't have to answer anything you don't want to and I promise I won't ask any more questions about you and Jack. I just…" he paused, taking a deep breath before meeting her eyes. "I would really like the chance to get to know you. Properly this time. And I'll even make a deal with you. Say for every question I ask, you get to ask me one of your own. Sound fair?"

Rose chewed her bottom lip, deliberating for a moment. "Okay." she said finally and he smiled in relief.

"Alright, let's start with an easy one." he said, tucking his hands in his coat pockets as they started walking again. "Where'd you grow up?"

"Peckham. On the Powell Estates. M' still in the same flat actually. I jus' couldn't seem to let it go after my mum died."

"I'm sorry." he said quietly.

Rose smiled sadly. "I was at Uni at the time studyin' arts and science. It was supposed to be a routine operation but there were some complications from the surgery and..." she released a shuddering breath and shook her head. "Anyway, after that money got tight so I had to drop out and start workin' full time at the shop."

John nodded in understanding. "Do you ever wish you could go back? To school I mean?"

"Yeah." she admitted wistfully. "M' still hopin' to one day." Not wanting to continue dwelling on those unpleasant memories, Rose quickly changed the subject back to him. "So what about you? Tell me a little bit about yourself."

"Weellll, like my brother and sister I was born and raised in Chiswick. But I sort of developed a taste for wanderlust after I graduated Uni." He pulled open the door to the chippy and gestured for Rose to step inside before following her. "I had actually just gotten back from Rome when we met the other day. I was there doing some research for my dissertation."

"Wow, really?" Rose asked, unable to keep the awe out of her voice. "I've only seen pictures but I've heard S' an amazin' place."

"Oh it is." he breathed out. "There's so much rich cultural history. I was there for a whole month and still wasn't able to see everything I wanted to."

After picking up their orders, he gestured towards an empty table at the back of the room where they could escape most of the noise and she followed him over.

"Wait, you're tellin' me Jack was in the Royal Navy?" Rose said in disbelief as she slid into the booth.

John's brows arched in surprise. "He didn't tell you? Wow, that's usually the first thing he leads with." Sitting down across from her he plucked a small photo out of his wallet and handed it over. "He even made us refer to him as Captain."

"Oh my god." Rose laughed as she stared down at the picture. Jack was standing in the middle decked out in full uniform with John on his right and Donna on his left. They all had their arms wrapped around each other and were grinning like loons, but it wasn't Jack that she had focused on.

"I know; ridiculous right?"

"Your hair!" she blurted before clapping a hand over her mouth.

"Oi!" he protested snatching the picture away from her and stuffing it back in his wallet.

"Oh come on, I didn't say it was bad." she tried to reassure him upon seeing the pout forming on his face. "The blonde perm jus' took me by surprise S' all."

"I was going through a phase." he grumbled, popping a chip in his mouth.

"S' quite fetchin' actually." Rose said thoughtfully. "There's not many guys who can pull off a perm. Although I do sort of like this look better." Her eyes lingered on his dark chocolate locks that had been artfully sculpted into disarray for a moment. "You do have some really great hair."

"Yeah?" he asked, the corners of his lips twitching up.

"Yeah." she laughed, ducking her head and quickly changed the subject again. "So," she turned her attention to her meal and began dousing her chips in vinegar. "You said you were writin' a dissertation?"

"Yep." he replied, popping the 'p'. "It's for my PhD in physics."

"Really? Maybe I should start callin' you Doctor then." she teased, tongue poking out between her teeth and he blushed furiously, trying to hide his smile behind his cup of soda. Oh, she was definitely gonna have to start calling him that more often if it got that kind of reaction. "So then are you plannin' on pursuin' a career in that field? 'Cause the other day your dad made it sound like you were gonna be takin' over the family business soon." When he didn't respond, she glanced up to see him slumped back in his seat, a deep frown on his face as he poked at his food. "Did I say somethin' wrong?" she asked nervously.

"No, it's fine. I just…" he sighed and shook his head before meeting her eyes. "My dad built that business from the ground up. My mum handled all the finances and once we were old enough, the three of us helped man the shop. Then as time went on, Dad started talking about eventually having Jack take over for him but then he went away to law school and started working for Torchwood so now he expects me to step in."

"And that's not what you want to do." she guessed.

John leaned forward, reaching across the table to place his hand over hers. "There are just so many wonderful places out there Rose. Places yet to be discovered and I want to see them all. I want to travel the world. I want to experience the excitement and adventure. I wasn't made to stand still." he searched her eyes. "Just imagine it Rose. Imagine that instead of filling your life with some boring everyday job that you hate and useless amounts of tele, you could travel anywhere. Where would you go?"

Rose ducked her head, smiling shyly. "Barcelona."

"Really?" he asked, looking intrigued.

"Yeah." she speared a chip with the fork in her free hand and twirled it slowly. "I remember watchin' the '92 summer Olympics on tele with my mum and the scenery was jus' so beautiful. I always thought it would be nice to go there some day. I um," she grinned down at her food. "I even carry my passport around in my handbag. You know; jus' in case." She looked up to see John grinning broadly. "What?" she asked, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"You are just full of surprises Rose Tyler." he said making her face flush further and he made a happy noise at the back of his throat. "Barcelona." he drew out the word making her giggle.

"So um," she set down her fork and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Have you thought about talkin' to your dad about all this? You know, tellin' him that S' not what you really want do?"

John sighed and drew back across the table, scrubbing a hand over his face and ruffling his hair before crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.

"I've tried several times to tell him but I never really know what to say. The thing is, my parents put their lives into that shop and I feel like if I were to just flat out tell them I don't want it, I would be disappointing them."

"Yeah, but you can't live your life the way someone else wants you to either." she pointed out. "And your parents love you. M' sure they'd understand if you jus' explained it to them. Anyone can see how brilliant you are and hindering that sort of talent would jus' be a complete waste of your capabilities and M' sure they'd agree with me."

"How do you do that?"

She looked up to see him staring at her in wonder. "Do what?"

"Make everything sound so simple while also complimenting me and making me feel better at the same time?"

Rose shrugged, a smile playing on her lips. "I guess M' jus' too good."

 **-oOo-**

After leaving the chippy they took their time walking back to the van, pausing ever so often to window shop. As they neared the end of the block they passed by a candy store and John stopped abruptly, wagging his eyebrows as he reached down to grab her hand and drag her inside. It took a few minutes of coaxing before Rose finally gave in and told him her favorite candy and after he made their purchases, Tangfastics for her and Jelly Babies for himself, they exited the shop with a slight bounce in their step, hands clasped and swinging between them.

"S' such a lovely night." Rose mused staring up at the stars.

John hummed in agreement following her gaze. "The stars are always brighter in winter. The cold temperatures offer a lower amount of moisture in the air which provides a better transparency for the atmosphere. That accompanied with the fact that during this time of the year the Earth is facing towards the Northern Hemisphere so you're seeing a smaller volume of stars which makes them look much clearer and sharper against the night sky. Of course, the light pollution also tends to drown out a lot of the dimmer stars so the further you get away from the city; the clearer they can be seen."

"You seem to know quite a bit about space." she commented, intrigued.

"Weeelll," he drawled with a tilt of his head. "I also have a bachelor's degree in astronomics."

Rose smiled tongue in teeth. "S' that why Donna calls you spaceman?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." John chuckled and gave her a lopsided grin. "My granddad has this beautiful old telescope and when I was a kid we use to go sit outside at night for hours just looking up at the sky, cataloguing star formations and planets. It's still one of our favorite pastimes so whenever I come home to visit we always end up camped out in the backyard in the evenings."

"S' really sweet that the two of you continue to carry on the tradition." Rose said, bumping her shoulder against his.

"Well maybe you should join us sometime." John suggested, bumping hers back. "I'll even give you your own personal tour of the stars and constellations. Aries and Perseus are always quite notable this time of year."

"That sounds lovely, but I wouldn't want to intrude on your time with your grandfather."

"Nah, you wouldn't be. Besides, granddad's quite fond of you. We all are." he finished quietly.

Rose felt her cheeks heating up again as their eyes met and as her thumb brushed against his she realized their hands were still entwined. John seemed to notice at the exact same moment as she suddenly felt him tense up before casually extricating his hand from hers to rub the back of his neck.

"We should uh, we should probably head back. It's getting kind of late." he mumbled.

"Yeah." she agreed, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt.

 **-oOo-**

When they arrived at Rose's flat John was once again the first one out of the van, rushing over to her side to help her out of the vehicle and offering to walk her to her door. Although she tried to tell him it wasn't necessary he was insistent that due to the late hour and the icy conditions it was his responsibility to make sure she got back to her flat safely.

"I had fun tonight." Rose said, clutching onto his arm to steady herself as they made their way across the slick asphalt.

"Me too." John agreed, the tips of his ears turning red with the admission. "So," he cleared his throat. "Are you still coming over to my parents for dinner Tuesday?"

"Yeah." Rose laughed. "Your mum made me promise."

John stopped walking and turned to her with an arched brow and a knowing smirk playing on his lips. "She guilted you into it didn't she?"

"Jus' a little bit." Rose admitted with an amused grin.

John laughed; the corners of his eyes crinkling from the width of his smile, stealing her breath. That's when everything came tumbling down. Literally. As they became lost in one another's eyes, neither of them paid attention to the particularly slick patch of ice centered in the small space between them so when John moved to step forward, his feet immediately began sliding out from under him. As his eyes widened in alarm, Rose instinctively reached out to grab hold of him in an attempt to keep him upright but only succeeded in allowing him to pull her down on top of him as he landed flat on his back.

After a few seconds of stunned silence passed between the pair, John spoke up.

"I think we fell down." he quipped sending them both into a fit of giggles.

Rose lifted her head from his chest and as their eyes met their laughter died away.

"You okay?" John asked softly, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and making her breath hitch.

"Yeah." she whispered back, hoping he couldn't feel her heart hammering in her chest as it was currently pressed against his.

Rose was practically drowning in the intensity of the warm brown depths of his gaze and it wasn't until John's focus dropped down to her lips that she suddenly became acutely aware of just how close their faces had gotten to one another and she quickly scrambled off of him, pushing herself to her feet.

She took a moment to straighten her clothing before offering him a hand up which he accepted; the brief look of confusion on his face giving way to a sheepish smile, and they carefully navigated the rest of the icy sidewalk as they silently made their way up to her flat where he waited while she unlocked the door.

"So," John tugged his ear and then jammed his hands in his pockets. "I guess I'll see you later then?"

He sounded slightly nervous yet hopeful and the earnest expression on his face made Rose's heart flutter once more.

"Not if I see you first." she replied playfully, poking her tongue through her teeth.

John's grin widened as he rocked back on his feet. "Well then, goodnight Rose Tyler."

"Goodnight John."

Their eyes lingered on one another for a beat longer and then Rose turned and stepped inside her flat, giving him one last smile before shutting and locking the door. Whirling around she pressed her back up against it, leaning her head back to rest on the hard surface and closed her eyes, allowing the elation from the evening to wash over her. She couldn't remember a time when she'd ever felt this happy. She was practically walking on air and the feeling was truly exhilarating. She took a moment to picture John's face in her mind, his warm chocolate brown eyes and gorgeous smile and she found herself eagerly anticipating seeing him again. That's when her stomach dropped and the smile drained away from her face.

"Oh god," she groaned, thumping her head back against the door. "What M' I doin'?"

 **-oOo-**

"I think M' fallin' for John." Rose blurted out over dinner the following evening. She looked up from the napkin she had been shredding into tiny strips, taking in Martha and Mickey's slightly amused expressions and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Well," she said after a few seconds of silence, staring at the pair expectantly. "Say somethin' at least."

"Oh, I'm sorry were we supposed to be surprised?" Mickey replied with a smirk.

Martha elbowed him in the side and gave him a disapproving look before turning her attention back to Rose. "Sorry about that, but he's right. It's been pretty obvious."

"What do you mean obvious?" Rose asked incredulously. "I didn't even really know how I felt till last night."

"Oh come on." Martha gave her a sly smile. "You haven't stopped talking about John since you met him."

"Yeah, but most of that was 'cause we were fightin' and he was irritatin' me." Rose protested.

"You want my opinion?" Mickey piped up around a mouth full of pizza. Rose crossed her arms and arched a brow in challenge. "You're completely smitten." With a roll of her eyes, Rose tossed her head back in frustration. "And," he continued, pointing his slice of pizza at her. "From what I've seen, I'm pretty sure he fancies you too."

"Oh god." Rose groaned, leaning forward to bury her head in her arms against the table. "That jus' makes everythin' worse."

"Why?"

"Why?" her head shot up from the table. "'Cause M' 'engaged to Jack'." she emphasized with finger quotes. "That's why. My _fiancé_ is in a coma and M' basically cheatin' on him with his brother."

"Okay, first off you and Jack are not really engaged." Mickey contended. "So technically you can't cheat on someone you were never in a relationship with in the first place. And secondly, as soon as Jack wakes up the two of you will figure all this out, everything will go back to normal and then you'll be able to spend as much time as you want with John, worry free."

"And what if Jack doesn't wake up?" she shot back. "What then? I can't keep lyin' to John and his family forever."

"That's not gonna happen." Mickey assured her.

"But it could." she insisted. "He could be this way for years and eventually John's gonna move on and find someone else." Rose sighed and sat back, pressing her hand to her forehead. "I jus' don't know what to do. I want to tell him the truth, but M' so afraid that when I do he's gonna hate me for deceivin' him."

"Hey," Martha came around the table to sit beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You didn't do any of this on purpose and besides, even his own grandfather told you not to say anything yet. If he's on your side, that has to account for something."

"Yeah, but S' kind of selfish to sit around hopin' for Jack to wake up jus' so he can fix this whole mess don't ya think?" she asked rhetorically. "I should be wantin' him to get better for his sake and his family's not for my own personal issues. S' bad enough that I seem to forget all about him whenever M' with John. I mean, what does that say about me?"

"It says that you're in love." Martha replied gently.

"But how can I be sure?" Rose asked; her voice small as she stared down at her hands in her lap. "I mean I thought I was in love with Jack too, remember."

Martha contemplated her for a moment. "You know, back in medical school when I was dating Tom, I thought he was the one. We had known each other for a long time, had a lot of the same interests and got on real well. It was comfortable, familiar but there wasn't any passion. I mean he wasn't exactly dull or anything but our relationship just lacked that spark and we ended up parting ways. Then I met this one." she gestured towards Mickey with her thumb. "And I found everything I'd been missing and more." Martha glanced back at him and had to roll her eyes at his smug grin. "Great, I think I've just over inflated his ego." she muttered making Rose giggle. "Anyway, my point is you have to ask yourself, which one of them can you see sharing your life with? Waking up beside each morning? Growing old together and having a family? But most of all, which of them makes you feel complete? Like you've finally found that missing piece you've been searching for?"

Rose didn't need to think about it. She already knew the answer. She had known the moment she met him. She looked up at Martha, eyes shining with unwavering certainty and her friend smiled knowingly.

"See, told you it was obvious."

 **-oOo-**

After re-reading the same sentence for the tenth time, John snapped his book shut and tossed it onto the nightstand. He hadn't been able to focus on anything all day. His thoughts were continuously drifting back to the previous evening, back to Rose. She was all he could think about. The way she laughed, the way her tongue poked through her teeth when she smiled, the way her hand fit perfectly in his and most of all just how badly he had wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her and never let her go.

Sighing, he removed his specs and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He needed to get ahold of himself. She was with Jack. She was marrying Jack, and he certainly wasn't the type of guy who would try to make a play for his brother's fiancée while he was lying there in a coma. Was he? _'No_.' he told himself with a shake of his head. ' _Absolutely not_.'

"You know you're the one I usually come to for advice on these types of things." he said aloud, glancing over at Jack. "Of course, if you knew the truth about what was going on in my head you'd probably be pretty pissed at me." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "It's funny really. We've both always had our fair share of women chasing after us. Maybe it's that good old fashioned Noble charm or maybe it's cause we're both just terrible flirts. But you were always fine with just dating and having fun. Always talking about how you never really wanted to settle down, whereas I was always looking for something more substantial. The kind of relationship where you just know it was meant to be because when their hand is in yours you feel like you've finally found that part of you that's been missing your whole life and you never want to let go. Unfortunately, most of the women I meet in my line of work are only in it for the travel and adventure. For what I can show them before they move on to something they deem more worthy." he snorted softly. "For a while there I was even starting to think that finding any kind of real relationship was impossible. That that whole notion of a true, falling head over heels in love, type of romance was all just a fairytale." he paused, swallowing roughly. "And then I met Rose."

Growling in frustration, he stood up and ran a hand through his hair as he began pacing the room.

"I don't get it. I mean is this just the universe's way of punishing me for wanting to pursue my own career instead of taking over the shop? Because if it is, it's cruel. You were the one who was supposed to take over. It was your responsibility, but you just left. You went off to law school and you passed it on to me because you didn't want to be forced to settle down, get married and raise a family. So just tell me why?!" He paused in his rant and stride to let out a deep breath before turning and walking back over to the bed. "Why is it that even though you wanted none of those things, you got to meet her first?" he asked, sinking down into the chair and putting his head in his hands. "I'm sorry Jack. I'm so sorry, but I don't know what to do." he murmured. "I think I'm in love with her."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6**

Rose arrived at the Nobles' at a quarter till seven the following evening and as she stood at the edge of the driveway listening to the cab pull away behind her it took all of her resolve not to turn back around, flag down the driver and leave.

' _S' jus' dinner_ ,' she reminded herself for the umpteenth time as she slowly made her way up to the house.

But even after having repeated the mantra in her head throughout the whole ride over she still hadn't managed to quell her nerves or calm the butterflies that had taken up residence in her stomach. Yes, it _was_ just dinner but unlike the last time she spent an evening with the family John would actually be there. And while that thought both thrilled and elated her, she was also worried about how her reaction to seeing him again might be perceived.

As if practically dominating her every waking thought wasn't enough, ever since their impromptu _date_ John had also begun to make nightly appearances in her dreams and that, coupled with the fact that it had been pointed out to her by both Martha and Mickey that the feelings she had been harboring for him were not as discreet as she thought they were, just proved that one wrong move in front of his family would make it blatantly obvious to them as well. That is if they weren't already suspicious with how much time she and John had been spending together.

Shaking her head, Rose silently scolded herself for being so daft. There was no real reason to suspect that the family thought she considered John to be anything more than a friend. Although… Wilf knew the truth about her and Jack. What if he also started sensing something between her and John as well? Or started noticing the way she looked at him or how she blushed when he smiled at her or how Jack seemed to slip her mind every time John was near? _'Stop it.'_ she chided herself once more. She was completely overreacting and allowing herself to get worked up by letting her irrational fears play upon her guilty conscience. Nothing more.

Stepping onto the porch Rose took a breath and schooled her features staring resolutely at the door. Standing outside all night worrying about what might or might not happen wasn't going to solve anything. She could do this. She would just simply have to play it cool and try to think of John in more of a 'brotherly' type of way.

 _'_ _Pretend he's Mickey.'_ she told herself. She scrunched up her face at that thought but at the moment she was willing to try anything. _'He's your friend and Jack's brother, nothing more. You are not attracted to him at all.'_

The door swung open before Rose even realized she had knocked and Sylvia smiled brightly. "Rose, you're right on time." she greeted, stepping aside to allow her to enter. "Come in." Shutting the door behind her she took Rose's coat and hung it on the rack before leading her into the living room where Donna and Geoff were sitting on the couch laughing as they leafed through a large photo album. "Dinner should be ready in about five minutes." she called over her shoulder on her way back to the kitchen.

"Rose!" Donna waved her over. "We were just going through some old family photos. Come join us." she patted the cushion beside her.

Taking a seat beside her, Rose leaned in for a better look and immediately began giggling. Almost every photo on the page contained a small dark haired little boy in nothing but various pairs of superhero underpants grinning and doing some sort of pose for the camera.

"Let me guess," Rose laughed. "Jack?"

Donna rolled her eyes good-naturedly and nodded. "Yeah."

"He never liked wearing clothes." Geoff chuckled as Donna flipped to the next page of what looked like vacation photos taken on a beach in which all three children were building a sandcastle.

Donna continued to flip through the book, occasionally pausing to make comments about where a specific photo was taken or to tell a funny anecdote that went along with the picture while Rose basically watched the trio grow up right before her eyes in stop motion. As the pages continued to turn, she couldn't help focusing on the pictures of John. There were quite a few of him building various contraptions, a couple of school photos of him holding what looked like a science fair trophy, a teenage John lying on the couch; his hair slightly longer and more shaggy, wearing a set of head phones while reading a physics book followed by graduation photos, some more perm pics and finally a candid shot of John and Wilf stargazing out in the back yard next to a large telescope.

"I took that one." Donna said when she noticed Rose's eyes lingering on the photo. "John was home from Uni for the weekend and he and Granddad decided to camp out under the stars."

"They're always out there with that thing." Sylvia interjected, sounding somewhat disapproving as she stepped out of the kitchen and dusted her hands off on her apron. "In fact, they're out back right now setting it up which means they'll be out there all night again. Honestly, the pair of them are gonna catch their death sitting out in the cold like that. I don't know why…"

The sound of voices and the back door sliding shut cut her off mid-rant and Rose looked up from the album just as John walked into the room. Her breath hitched at the sight of him and all of those "friends only' thoughts she had been trying to adhere to for the evening immediately flew out the window.

John's hair was in its normal artful disarray and he was wearing a maroon oxford with the sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone, dark blue skinny jeans and a pair of maroon chucks. As she slowly dragged her eyes back up to meet his, a warm smile began to spread across his face, mirroring the one she was now sporting and for a few moments it was as if they were the only ones in the room.

Movement out of the corner of her eye quickly reminded her that they were most definitely not alone and she glanced over to see Donna looking between the pair of them curiously. Thankfully John managed to create an instant diversion by groaning loudly and all eyes turned on him.

"Donna, why do you insist on pulling out that album every time we have a guest?" he complained.

Donna rolled her eyes. "What are you so worried about spaceman? You said she'd already seen a picture of you with your perm. It can't get much more embarrassing than that. Besides it's not like you're naked in any of these." Donna leaned over towards Rose. "I save those for special occasions." she whispered conspiratorially making Rose giggle.

"Oh okay, you want to talk about embarrassing hair pics?" John shot back and Donna's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"Alright, knock it off you two." Sylvia chided, stepping into the room. "Dinner's ready."

John narrowed his eyes at Donna as if to say 'this conversation isn't over' and she retaliated by sticking out her tongue before hooking her arm through Rose's and dragging her into the kitchen. As they gathered around the table Rose took a seat beside Donna and looked up to see John sitting down directly across from her. Both of them blushed lightly as their eyes met and they exchanged a nervous smile before turning their attention back to the rest of the family.

The evening seemed to pass by fairy quickly and Rose had even found herself starting to relax a bit as she listened to the exchange of pleasantries, lighthearted family stories and spirited debate. As dinner winded down she found herself a bit surprised by John's lack of contribution to the conversation. Although she hadn't spoken much herself, except for a word of agreement every now and then or a bout of laughter where appropriate, it was strange to see him so subdued. Normally with that unstoppable gob of his it was hard to get a word in edgewise, especially since he tended to talk about anything and everything at about a mile a minute but tonight he just seemed…different. Almost as if he was nervous about something. Donna seemed to notice as well, shooting glances their way whenever there was a lull in the conversation.

As they finished up their dessert Rose caught John's eye and they exchanged another smile, staring at one another perhaps a bit longer than necessary judging by the fact that they had drawn Donna's attention once more and ended up avoiding eye contact for the rest of the meal.

"Do you need any help with the dishes?" Rose asked as they began to clear the table.

"No, we got them." Donna told her as she joined Wilf at the sink.

Nodding she picked up her drink and turned to see John leaning up against the sliding glass door, gazing up at the sky. As she stepped up beside him he glanced down at her, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"Hello." he said softly.

"Hello." Rose breathed out, her heart skipping a beat as she stared into his eyes.

"You're not leaving yet are you?"

"No." she laughed nervously and shook her head. "No, I can stay for a little bit longer."

"Oh good. That's good." he nodded. "Um," he reached up and began tugging lightly on his ear. "If you want I could give you that tour of the stars I promised. I've got the telescope all set up."

"Oh um, yeah sure, that'd be great." she said, nervously tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

His grin widened at her response and she couldn't help but return it before setting her drink down and gesturing towards the door.

"After you, Doctor." she drawled flirtatiously as she moved to follow him outside which caused him to blush fiercely, tinging the tips of his ears pink.

John led her across the yard to where the telescope was resting on its tripod and pulled a leather bound journal from the duffel bag on the ground beside it.

"I've documented all of the constellations and planets that we've already mapped out in here." He waved the journal at her and then pointed towards the ground where she noticed three small white X's, one beneath each leg of the tripod. "And we marked the area to make sure we set up in the correct spot every time. Okay, let's see here." he murmured to himself as he flipped through the first few pages. "Ah, here we go."

After adjusting the scope with the proper calculations on the page he stepped back and gestured for her to take a look.

"S' a bit blurry." she commented as she pressed her eye to the lens.

"Hold on." He stepped up beside her and she could feel the heat of his body as he leaned in, a stark contrast to the cold night air, and she tried to hold back a shiver as his arms came up around her to adjust the position of the scope.

"Is that better?" he asked, his warm breath caressing her cheek.

Pulling back she turned to look at him, their faces mere inches apart, his warm brown eyes transfixed on her hazel depths.

"Much better." she whispered, her gaze falling to his lips.

The sound of the back door sliding open and Sylvia announcing that Rose's cab had arrived caused them to spring apart guiltily.

Rose gave a breathless laugh. "Well um, I better go. I've got work in the mornin'."

"Right." John nodded and she almost thought she saw a brief flash of disappointment in his eyes before he quickly turned away and tucked the journal back into the duffel bag. "I'll just walk you out then."

"Okay." Rose agreed, offering him a smile.

"You know you didn't have to call a cab." he told her as they made their way back to the house. "I would have driven you home."

"Oh that's okay. I didn't want to put you to any trouble."

"It's no trouble Rose. I'm happy to do it."

"Yeah but S' an hour drive there and back and it would be takin' time away from your family that they should be spendin' with you while you're home."

"Well, technically you're almost family now too." he pointed out, sounding a little bitter as he slid the door open for her.

His tone made her pause for a moment and she was tempted to ask him if he was bothered by that when Sylvia walked up and handed her a couple of containers. "I packed you some leftovers for dinner tomorrow as well as some pie."

Rose glanced over at John in amusement and he just shrugged and grinned.

The family followed Rose to the front door where hugs and goodbyes were exchanged and as John moved to grab her coat, Donna took the containers from her hands so he could help her into it. Taking back the containers, Rose gave Donna a quick hug and then turned to say goodnight to John but before she could even open her mouth Sylvia spoke up.

"Oh, look at that." she chuckled glancing up at the doorway.

Both John and Rose followed her gaze and the minute Rose's eyes landed on the small sprig of mistletoe hanging above the door, she felt her stomach drop.

"Well go on and kiss her then." Sylvia instructed her son.

"It is a tradition." Geoff reminded them.

Rose glanced over at Donna, who chose to remain silent, watching them with that same look of discernment she had been all night while Wilf, who was standing beside her, just looked apologetic and somewhat sad.

Filing their reactions away to reflect upon later she turned back to John, whose 'deer in the headlights' expression was practically a mirror image of her own, and smiled nervously up at him. She was starting to feel lightheaded and the butterflies that had been casually flitting about in her stomach all evening were now fluttering wildly and looking for the nearest exit. While it was true that she had fantasized about kissing him at least a dozen times over the last few days, none of those fantasies included doing so in front of his entire family while his parents egged them on.

John took a tentative step forward to close the distance between them and leaned in to press his lips to Rose's cheek when Sylvia stopped him.

"Oh now none of that." she chided. "Do it properly."

John swallowed audibly, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he looked into Rose's eyes as though searching for permission. Seeming to have found what he was looking for he leaned forward again and quickly brushed his lips over hers before pulling away, a light blush coloring his cheeks.

It could barely even be called a kiss, but it left Rose with an intense tingling sensation that she felt all the way down to her toes and she had to duck her head to hide her embarrassment. With one last "goodnight" and a quick wave to the rest of the family, she turned away and practically sprinted out the door and down the steps. Her face felt like it was on fire and even the bitter cold of the wind couldn't soothe the burning in her cheeks. As much as she wanted to turn around and look behind her for his reaction she couldn't do it. Quickly slipping into the cab she gave the driver her destination, forcing herself to keep her eyes forward as the car pulled away from the curb before finally slumping back in the seat in frustration. What the hell had she been thinking? She had kissed him. She had kissed John. It was bad enough that she had been fantasizing about it but then she had to go and allow herself to be pressured into actually carrying the fantasy out, with an audience no less, and what's more she had liked it. Great, just one more thing to add to her guilty conscience.

 **-** **oOo-**

John swallowed roughly as he watched the cab drive away, his heart beating out a samba in his chest. He had wanted to call out, to run after her, to take her in his arms and give her a real kiss. One that would leave her panting and breathless and show her exactly how he felt about her. Sighing, he shut the door and leaned back against it as he ran a hand over his face and attempted to push those thoughts aside. She was Jack's fiancée for god sakes. Things were already complicated enough with the realization that he was in love with her and then on top of that he just had to go and kiss her. He knew it was a bad idea, he knew he shouldn't have done it and yet he allowed himself to be goaded into it anyway. At least when he had only been fantasizing about kissing her he could lie to himself, try to pretend that the reality could never be as good as the version he had concocted in his head in order to help force his feelings aside and at least try to be happy for her and Jack. But that kiss, that one, brief, seemingly insignificant little kiss had only managed to turn his world upside down once more and selfishly, all he could think about was how he very much wanted to do it again.

 **-** **oOo-**

"Oh my god, so you're finally gonna do it then?" Rose asked in disbelief staring down at the ring.

"Yeah." Mickey chuckled. "Tomorrow night actually. Not a bad way to _ring_ in the New Year eh? "

"Well S' about time." she grinned giving him a playful shove.

"Hey, the only reason I held off was that so Martha could finish her residency without all the added stress of planning a wedding. But the minute I saw the ring I knew I just had to get it." he met her eyes hopefully. "You think she'll like it?"

"She'll love it." Rose assured him. "S' perfect."

Mickey blew out a breath of relief and smiled as he tucked the ring box back in his pocket. "I've been so worried the last couple of days that somethin' was gonna come up and she'd end up having to work tomorrow but so far it's all going according to plan. We'll have the party and then at the stroke of midnight I'll get down on one knee in front of all our friends and ask her to marry me."

"That sounds lovely." Rose murmured, trying to keep the wistfulness out of her tone but failing miserably. "M' so happy for you guys."

"Hey," Mickey's voice was laced with concern as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"M' fine." she replied a little too quickly, unable to meet his eyes.

"Right." he said slowly and sounding completely unconvinced. "Pull the other one while you're at it. Come on Rose, tell me what's wrong? Did somethin' happen at dinner with Jack's family last night?"

Rose's mind was momentarily flooded with the memory of the all too brief kiss she had shared with John the previous evening and she quickly tamped down the feelings that accompanied it. She never should have let the kiss to happen in the first place but she allowed herself be badgered into, as Sylvia had put it, "keeping with tradition" which ended up only making things worse. By allowing herself to indulge in that one moment of true happiness she had only succeeded in piling more guilt onto her overburdened conscience. She met her friend's eyes. It was really no surprise that Mickey could easily see right through her. Having grown up together he was more attuned to her than anyone but this was definitely not something she wanted to discuss at the moment so she attempted to brush off the subject.

"No, nothin' happened. It was jus' a normal dinner."

"Mmm hmm." Mickey still sounded skeptical but sensing that she didn't want to talk about it, allowed the matter to drop with a change of subject. "So for the party tomorrow, Martha wanted me to ask you if she could borrow your punch bowl. You are still comin' right?"

"Of course." she gave him a genuine smile. "Can't miss seein' my two best friends get engaged now can I? Are you guys gonna need any help with decorations?"

"Nah, Martha's pretty much got it covered and Jake and Rory are gonna come by early to help set up the sound system."

"Oh that's good. How's Rory doin' by the way?"

Mickey leaned back against the railing, draping his arms over the top. "Well we haven't had much chance to talk since he got back. The funeral arrangements took a lot out of him and now he's havin' to deal with that whole mess with his dad's estate."

"Yeah, that's gotta be rough on him." Rose agreed. "But I meant with the other thing. Ya know, the big news?"

"Big news?" Mickey's brows furrowed in confusion.

"You didn't hear?" she asked incredulously and he shook his head. "Amy's pregnant."

"What? No way. When did this happen?"

Rose laughed. "I didn't exactly ask for the conception date."

"Cheeky." Mickey retorted as Rose moved to lean up against the railing beside him, neither of them hearing the sound of the footsteps coming up the stairs. "Wow," he blew out a breath. "So… pregnant."

"Yeah." she replied with a breathy laugh.

"And when did you find out?"

"Yesterday."

"Wow. I mean, that's great. A bit unexpected, but still great."

"You're tellin' me." Rose agreed. "After everythin' he's been through S' about time somethin' good happened for a change." she paused, a soft smile forming on her lips. "He's gonna be a really great dad don't ya think?"

"Definitely." Mickey concurred as a loud buzzing sounded from his pocket. "That'll be Martha." Pulling out his phone he checked the screen and nodded in confirmation. "I better get going. I still have to go by Tesco's to pick up a few more things on the way home."

"Okay, well come on," she said pushing off the railing. "I'll get you that punchbowl she wants to borrow."

As they headed down the walkway back towards her flat neither of them noticed the shadow creeping out from behind the concrete wall of the staircase or the man it was attached to as he finally came into view.

John stared after the pair in utter disbelief, trying to swallow against the lump in his throat as he attempted to process what he had just heard. Suddenly overtaken by an overwhelming urge to run, he turned and bolted down the stairs.

 **-** **oOo-**

John pulled into his parent's driveway as dusk was starting to set in. After leaving Rose's flat, he had driven around for a while in an attempt to clear his head but to no avail. Putting the car into park, he slumped back against the seat. She was pregnant. Rose was pregnant. The moment he had heard the words leave her lips he was in shock. He had wanted to go after her, to confront her and get further confirmation but then of course that would only make it look like he had been spying on her. He thumped his head against the headrest. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop. He really hadn't. The only reason he had even dropped by was because he was in the area picking up something for his dad and on a whim thought he might surprise her with an offer to join him for dinner, only he was the one who ended up surprised. With a heavy sigh he stilled his head and closed his eyes. Oh who was he kidding? He dropped by because he wanted to see _her_ , whether he had happened to be in the area or not. She was all he could think about ever since he met her. The ghost of her kiss from the previous evening, brief as it was, still lingered on his lips and he longed to feel it again but now with this revelation he had to force those thoughts from his head once and for all. She was with Jack. She was going to marry him and have his child. It was over.

A light tapping on the window startled him from his reverie and he cracked one eye open to see Donna staring down at him with her hands on her hips. Raising a brow she nodded pointedly at the window and he reached over and flicked the switch to roll it down.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Blinking, he took a moment to process her question. "What?"

"You've been sitting out here talking to yourself for half an hour. The neighbors are gonna start thinking you've gone round the bend."

"Rose is pregnant." he said quietly, dropping his gaze to the steering wheel.

"What?" Donna's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Oh my god! How do you know? Did she tell you? When is she due? Did Jack already know?"

"Donna." he cut in. "Take a breath will you."

"Well excuuuse me for being excited spaceman." she held up her hands in mock defense. "I mean, this is big news. Does mum know yet? What am I saying of course she doesn't. She'd have called half of London by now. And how come you already knew? Were you with her when she found out or did she just tell you?"

"Blimey you can talk." he grumbled when she finally broke for a breath. "No she didn't tell me. I... sort of overheard her talking to her friend."

"You what?" Donna stared down at him incredulously. "As if you haven't put that poor girl through enough with all your interrogations, now you're spying on her?"

"W-what?" he sputtered. "No. I was picking up something for dad in the area and I stopped by to…" he ran a hand through his hair in frustration and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Listen Donna," he turned in his seat, his hands gripping the top of the door as he gave her a pleading look. "You can't say anything. It's her news to tell. She doesn't even know I know."

Donna nodded her agreement, miming a zipper being pulled across her lips but was unable to hide her giddy smile. "Oh but this is bloody brilliant!" she blurted excitedly. "I mean, I'm gonna be an aunt." she paused, her eyes softening as she took in his sullen expression. "This is good for them though right? I mean it's happy news isn't it?" she asked, placing her hand on top of his.

"Yeah." he said forcing a smile before glancing away again, completely missing the sympathetic look that passed over her features.

"Come on," Donna said gently, patting his hand. "Let's go inside before mum sends out the search party."

Nodding dejectedly, John climbed out of the car and followed her into the house.

 **-** **oOo-**

At the sound of her name being called Rose looked up from the icy patch in front of her staircase that she had been carefully trying to navigate across to see John leaning casually up against his car, hands tucked in his pockets with one foot crossed over the other, and a slow smile began to spread across her face.

"What are you doin' here?" she asked as she made her way over to him.

His answering grin faltered a bit and something indiscernible flickered in his eyes before he quickly looked away and cleared his throat. "I uh," he reached up with one hand and began rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well, seeing as how it's New Year's Eve and all and with Jack still in the hospital, I wanted to see if you might want to do something. You know, maybe grab some dinner and talk."

"Oh," she replied, slightly surprised. "Well actually Mickey and Martha are havin' a party so..." she gestured vaguely behind her.

"Ah." he nodded eyebrows lifting as he pushed off the car. "Well then can I give you a ride?"

"That's okay," Rose shook her head. "They jus' live down the block." At the clear dejection on his face she quickly added. "You could come with me though if you want. I mean, if you don't have any other plans."

"Nope." he popped the 'p', his face breaking out into a grin once more. "Free as a bird."

She smiled back, tilting her head in a beckoning motion and he followed her onto the sidewalk as they began to make their way down the street. They fell into a companionable silence as they walked along with him casually steeling glances at her every so often while she attempted to collect the myriad of thoughts rushing through her head. She had no idea what had come over her when she blurted out the invitation for him to join her. Okay, so maybe she had a slight inkling, but that was beside the point. How could she even remotely think it was a good idea with everything that had been happening between them to spend an evening with him where there would be drinking and dancing and kissing… oh god, what if he wanted to talk about the kiss. He had mentioned wanting to go somewhere to talk. What would she even say? Should she apologize? Laugh it off? She hadn't even managed to process her feelings on the situation so how the hell was she supposed to talk about it?

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked pulling her from her thoughts.

"Fine." she replied quickly. "You?"

"Oh, good." he nodded rapidly. "I'm good."

They fell into silence once more, neither of them seeming to be able to find the right words to begin a conversation so Rose was extremely grateful when Mickey and Martha's building came into view.

"This is it." she announced, leading him up the walkway.

As they drew closer they could hear the faint thumping beat of music and there were several people in party hats milling around the grounds with drinks in their hands. Rose stepped up to the door and knocked loudly and a few seconds later it was opened by a young man in a military style jacket with spikey blonde hair.

"Rose." he greeted happily, sweeping her up in a tight hug.

"Hey Jake." Rose giggled as he set her back down and then turned to John. "This is my friend John. John this is Jake. He works with Mickey down at the garage."

"Nice to meet you mate." Jake extended his hand and John shook it.

"Likewise."

Jake stepped aside to allow them to enter and then closed the door behind them as John began to help Rose out of her coat.

"He's cute." Jake murmured in her ear giving her a wink and a smile before making his way back across the room.

"What did he say?" John asked, stepping up beside her.

Rose blushed and shook her head as she spotted Shareen, Keisha and Amy off in the corner before turning back to him. "M jus' gonna go say hi to some friends real quick and I'll be right back. Help yourself to a drink." She pointed towards a table of refreshments on the opposite side of the room and he nodded his assent as she headed over to the small group of giggling women.

"There she is!" Shareen cheered, raising her cup in Rose's direction. "Told you she'd make it."

Rose laughed exchanging hugs with the trio before turning her attention on Keisha. "So how's maternity leave treatin' ya?" she shouted over the music.

"Oh no one cares about that." Shareen interjected. "What we want to know is who that gorgeous piece of arm candy you walked in with is." she said and the other women nodded in agreement.

Rose bit her bottom lip and glanced back over her shoulder trying not to let herself become flustered by their questioning. "That's John. He's… a friend."

John must have noticed their eyes on him because at that moment he looked up and waved.

"A friend huh?" Keisha snickered. "The way he was looking at you when you came in says he's a little more than that."

Rose rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Trust me, we're not like that. We're jus' friends."

"Well if you're not gonna tap that…" Shareen began but Rose cut her off.

"Don't even think about it!" she warned.

"Yeah," Amy drawled in her thick Scottish accent, putting up air quotes. "Just friends." And the group began giggling once more.

While Rose was busy catching up with her friends, John was attempting to make small talk with Jake and Rory; a tall lanky fellow with sandy hair he had just been introduced to, in order to take his mind off of why he had really come to see Rose tonight. He knew they needed to talk but he was also aware that this wasn't the best venue for them to have that type of discussion. As he tried to focus on the conversation the other two men were having regarding some footie match, a wave of laughter filled the air and he looked up to see Rose and her friends staring back at him. It was quite obvious that they were talking about him so he gave them a quick wave and a warm smile before turning away again. Although he'd much prefer to be by her side right now he also knew that following her around all night like a puppy dog wouldn't exactly be appropriate either. He didn't want to be _that_ guy. Returning his attention once again to the conversation in front of him he had his cup halfway to his lips when he gave a quick glance back across the room and froze, his face paling as he watched Mickey hand Rose a beer. Quickly excusing himself, he set his cup on the table and crossed the room in just a few short strides and snatched the bottle from her grasp.

"John… what?" Rose started.

"Are you crazy?" he half-shouted, staring down at her in disbelief and immediately drawing the attention of the rest of the party goers. "You can't drink that!" He turned to Martha and Mickey whose faces mirrored her bewilderment. "And the two of you should know better." he chastised the couple angrily as he thrust the beer bottle back into Mickey's hands. "You're a medical doctor for god sakes." he directed at Martha. "You should know the dangers and risks of drinking during a pregnancy."

The music shut off as his statement resounded throughout the room leaving behind a deafening silence as John slowly became aware of the ramifications of his sudden outburst. Swallowing roughly, he gradually took in the shocked faces all around him before daring a glance back at Rose who was staring at him in complete and utter mortification and he cursed himself inwardly.

 _'_ _Bollocks.'_

 **-** **oOo-**

"Rose, wait." John called out as he chased her down the sidewalk and caught hold of her arm. "It was a simple misunderstanding that's all."

"You call that a simple misunderstandin'?" she scoffed. "You jus' told all my friends I was pregnant."

"I know." he said softly, his warm brown eyes pleading for her forgiveness. "And I'm sorry Rose. I am so sorry."

Rose sighed, shaking her head in disbelief as she began walking again and he fell into step beside her, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"What in the world made you think that in the first place?" she asked him as they made their way back to her flat.

"Weell," he drawled, pulling one of his hands from his pocket to tug lightly on his ear as he stared down at his feet. "I had stopped by to see you yesterday and I sort of overheard a bit of yours and Mickey's conversation. I wanted to talk to you about it then but I also didn't want you to think I had been purposely eavesdropping on you so I just turned around and left."

"Oh my god," Rose laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "We were talkin' about our friend Amy. She and her husband jus' found out she was pregnant a couple of days ago. They'd been goin' through a rough patch 'cause Rory's dad recently passed away so we were jus' sayin' how nice it was for them to get some good news after everythin' they've been through these last few weeks."

"Ah." John replied with a sheepish smile before returning his attention to his feet. "I'm sorry to hear that." he offered after a moment. "About your friend's dad I mean."

"Yeah." Rose nodded in agreement. "He was a good man."

They lapsed into silence once again as they neared her building and then he gallantly offered her his arm as he led her across the slick patches of ice and up the stairs.

Upon reaching her floor, Rose finally dared a glance at him. "You know, you coulda jus' asked me outright on the way to the party instead of announcin' it to all my friends." she told him, trying to ease the tension by playfully bumping his shoulder with her own and giving him an amused smile.

"Well, I was trying to figure out the best way to approach the subject. Although I can assure you, blurting it out in front of everyone like that had not been one of my choices." he added with another sheepish grin. "And then I thought maybe I shouldn't say anything because you might not want us to know yet. I mean seeing as how you and Jack had gotten engaged so quickly I figured maybe..."

Rose's face paled at the implication of his words and she suddenly found herself becoming angry again. "So what," she cut him off. "You think that the only reason Jack would want to be with me is 'cause he knocked me up, is that it?"

"What?" John choked out. "No."

"Yeah it is." Rose stopped abruptly and turned to jab a finger against his chest. "You jus' practically admitted it. You overheard me talkin' to Mickey about the pregnancy out of context and automatically assumed that was the reason Jack and I had gotten engaged. S' that how you see me? That the only way some little shopgirl from a council estate like me can get someone like Jack to marry her is by gettin' pregnant with his baby?"

John looked sincerely taken aback. "No! Rose, that's not what I meant. I could never think that about you."

"Then what exactly did you mean?" she asked, crossing her arms in exasperation.

"I just meant…" he deflated. "Look, it's just that Jack has never been the type to want to settle down with anyone so it just made sense that he would want to do the right thing by you if you both suspected you might be…" Seeing the angry look on her face warring with the dejection in her eyes he groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not explaining this properly. Look, I'm sorry alright. This whole thing has just been one giant misunderstanding."

"That's the understatement of the year." she huffed turning towards her flat.

"Rose." Reaching out, John caught hold of her hand and turned her back around to face him. "I just didn't want the two of you to be doing this for the wrong reasons. You deserve more than that. I just want the best for you."

"Yeah, well maybe you should start worryin' about what's best for you instead. Have you even tried talkin' to your dad about what you want to do when you get your degree?"

John's expression hardened and he released her hand. "That's not really any of your business."

"Oh really?" Rose crossed her arms defensively. "Well you sure as hell seem to have no problem pokin' your nose into mine."

"You don't know what you're talking about." he snapped. "You have no idea what goes on in my family. You've barely known them a week."

"Yeah, so what's your excuse then? You're their son and you're too afraid to tell them that you don't want the life they've planned out for you."

"Look who's talking." John shot back. "You were saying you wanted to go back to school and travel but I don't see you taking any initiative." he was practically yelling now. "Do you want to be stuck working in a shop for the rest of your life?"

Rose's face crumpled and she quickly turned away to hide the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. "No." she replied after a moment as she attempted to unlock the door with shaky hands.

John immediately deflated at the brokenness in her voice, contrition replacing his angry facade as he hurried to apologize. "Rose I…I'm sorry."

Shaking her head, she held up her hand to him. "Go home John."

As she stepped inside, he put his hand against the door to keep her from shutting it.

"Rose, please."

She could hear the remorse in his voice but couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes for fear of breaking down. This last week had taken its toll on her but she refused to let him see her cry.

"Go home." she repeated firmly and this time when she moved to shut the door, he let go. Pressing her back up against the hard surface she shut her eyes and allowed the tears to flow as she listened to the sound of cheers and fireworks filling the air, signaling the arrival of the New Year. So far, it wasn't living up to her hopeful expectations.

 **-** **oOo-**

The ICU was buzzing with activity as the staffers assigned to the night shift gathered in front of the small television mounted above the nurse's station. Donned in their party hats and sipping non-alcoholic cider the group began to count down along with MC on the tele, horns poised to sound off at the stroke of midnight. When the counter on the screen reached zero cheers erupted from the small crowd before transitioning into a chorus of 'Auld Lang Syne' as they welcomed in the New Year and amidst all the commotion, just a few feet away in a dark hospital room, Jack's eyes fluttered open.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

Rose's stomach was churning queasily as she stepped through the automatic doors of the hospital. The somewhat frenetic phone call she had received from Sylvia waking her from a deep slumber to tell her that Jack was awake had completely thrown her for a loop, barely affording her any time for hair and make-up. She opted for a messy ponytail and some lip-gloss and then threw on an oversized pink sweater and a pair of jeans before rushing down to the station to catch the next tube. Luckily she had been scheduled to have the day off which she was now extremely grateful for in light of what had happened at the party earlier that evening. The thought of having to face her friends and answer the inevitable embarrassing questions that were bound to come up was definitely not something she was all to keen about doing anytime soon.

As she reached the door to the ICU, Rose felt her pulse quicken. Part of her was relieved that Jack was awake, knowing she could soon put this whole complicated ordeal behind her with a brief conversation and an apology, yet another part of her was saddened by the realization that she also might be about to lose the family she had gained and grown to love in such a short period of time. Of course her biggest fear was that her secret might be revealed before she even had the chance to talk to Jack. Her face paled at the thought. Oh god, what if they already knew? What if they'd asked him about her already and he'd ousted her as a fraud and a liar? They would hate her for sure. She quickly thought back to what time it had been when she received Sylvia's phone call, trying to calculate how long Jack had been awake.

Glancing up she saw Wilf was waiting for her in the hallway outside Jack's room. He gave her a reassuring smile as she approached and she released the breath she had been holding. They didn't know yet.

"They just went in." he informed her quietly. Taking in the look of sheer panic on her face he reached out and took her hand, squeezing gently in a comforting gesture. "Now don't you worry sweetheart. Everything's gonna be just fine. I promise."

Rose smiled gratefully, squeezing back before dropping his hand and moving towards the door. As she looked inside the room, another wave of nervous energy washed over her and she shuddered in response. Sylvia was sitting next to the bed with Geoff behind her, his hand resting supportively on her shoulder while John and Donna stood on the opposite side, smiles all around as they listened to Jack talk. They looked so happy. _'And M' about to ruin that.'_ she thought self-deprecatingly.

Jack caught sight her first, hovering half in and half out of the doorway. "Rosie?" he asked in pleasant surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, why wouldn't she be here?" Sylvia interjected incredulously. "She's your fiancé."

Jack's brows furrowed in confusion. "My fiancé?"

' _This is it.'_ Rose thought and took a deep breath as she prepared for the fallout.

Suddenly a loud coughing erupted from behind her and everyone's focus turned on Wilf who was slightly hunched over, tapping his fist lightly against his chest.

"Dad?" Sylvia began, her tone turning slightly anxious. "Dad are you alright?"

He nodded, holding up a hand and waving her off as he made his way over to a chair on the other side of the room and sat down. Upon seeing his distress, Rose had rushed over and poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table and took it to him. Still coughing, he nodded his thanks and quickly downed the water as Donna and John crouched down beside him, their faces exhibiting their concern.

"You sure you're alright?" John asked, lightly rubbing Wilf's back.

"Yeah, just got something caught in my throat that's all?" he chuckled lightly.

"Maybe we should have the doctor check you out just to be sure." Donna suggested.

Wilf smiled and patted her hand. "No love, I'm fine."

"Sorry to interrupt."

All heads turned to see Tosh entering the room. "I just need to do a couple of quick checks and take some vitals. If you all wouldn't mind going to the waiting room for a few minutes I'll come get you when I'm done."

The family reluctantly agreed and as John and Donna moved to help Wilf up from the chair, he waved them off good-naturedly. "I'm alright. Just need a minute."

"That's okay," Tosh told them as she adjusted one of the monitors. "He can stay."

They both eyed him skeptically for a moment but he waved them off again promising he was fine and he would join them shortly. As they turned to leave, John caught Rose's eye and he opened his mouth as if to speak but then seemed to think better of it, quickly glancing away and swallowing roughly as he exited the room in two long strides. Whether or not Donna noticed the exchange she said nothing, giving Rose a small smile and squeezing her arm as she passed. Rose turned to follow, daring one last look back at Wilf who shook his head and winked before gesturing to the door. Hesitantly she nodded and then left the room.

"Alright gramps out with it?" Jack said the moment the family was out of earshot.

"What do you mean?" Wilf replied innocently.

"Oh come on. That was by far the worst bit of acting I've ever seen you do and that's including the time you pretended to sprain your ankle to get out cleaning the gutters last fall."

Wilf chuckled softly before turning his attention to Tosh. "Give us a few minutes will you love?"

"Sure." Tosh smiled warmly before leaving the room.

"So," Jack began. "I take it this has something to do with Rose since your convenient little coughing spell started right after mum referred to her as my fiancé."

"Good to see that bump on the head didn't take away your smarts." Wilf replied cheekily, receiving a laugh from Jack in return. "How's about I tell you a little story about your very own guardian angel..."

Jack listened intently as his grandfather gave him a brief rundown of everything that had happened since he arrived in the hospital. The accident, Rose saving his life and the misunderstanding that led to his family thinking that he and Rose were engaged.

"She's a good girl." Wilf said adamantly. "She made a mistake but she doesn't deserve to be punished for it. She saved your life and has been a touchstone for this family. I honestly don't know what we would have done without her to help us through this nightmare. In fact I'd go as far as to say the entire family is quite enamored with her."

Jack grinned at that. He had to agree that there was something about Rose that just seemed to bring out the best in people. It was one of the reasons he had chosen her to be his own personal shopper. She was bright and funny and a joy to be around. She always seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say and she was a great listener as well. His mind drifted back over several of those moments from the past year, images of her laughing and smiling and he started to get a warm sensation in the pit of his stomach. Realizing Wilf was still talking, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Just promise me you won't hurt her Jack. She's a very special girl and we like having her around."

"Don't worry gramps." Jack smiled reassuringly. "I'll talk to her and we'll figure out a way to make everything right."

 **-** **oOo-**

The waiting room was empty apart from the three of them due to the late hour. Sylvia and Geoff had gone for coffee, leaving them to entertain themselves as they waited for the 'all clear' to head back to Jack's room. Rose sat fidgeting in one of the hard backed chairs unable to get comfortable no matter what she did. She was already on edge and being near John again was threatening to push her over. They hadn't spoken to one another since last night; not even a hello, although she caught him staring at her a few times like he wanted to say something only to lose his nerve at the last second. Currently he was sitting across from her, staring at his shoes as though he found them to be the most fascinating things in the world while Donna quietly leafed through a magazine beside him.

Sighing, Rose shifted in her seat once more, catching John's eyes in the process before quickly looking away again. The tension between them was palpable and judging by the looks Donna kept giving them, she wasn't the only one that felt it. Pulling her phone from her pocket as a means of distraction she typed a quick message to Mickey to let him know what was going on and that she would talk to him later and then opened up her sudoku app to start a new game. A few minutes in she realized she wasn't going to be able to concentrate and closed it again. Her main focus right now was to talk to Jack. She had managed to receive a stay of execution in light of Wilf's coughing fit; which was actually quite convenient she might add, and smirking inwardly she made a mental note to thank him later. Then maybe once she had explained herself and squared things with Jack, she could focus on...other matters.

Feeling a warm sensation creep up her neck and flush her cheeks she looked up to see John staring at her again, his warm brown eyes conveying such regret and longing that suddenly the room seemed entirely too small.

"M' jus' gonna go see how much longer S' gonna be." she muttered getting up from the chair and practically dashing from the room.

"Ow!" John cried out once she was out of sight. "What was that for?"

Donna lowered the rolled up periodical and gave him a fierce glare. "What the hell did you do now?"

"Nothing." he protested, scowling as he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head. "We just sort of had a misunderstanding."

Donna's eyes narrowed. "What kind of misunderstanding?"

John glanced around to make sure they were still alone. "Remember when I told you she was pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"Well she's not. What I heard… she had actually been talking about a friend of hers."

"And let me guess, she's mad at you for eavesdropping and jumping to conclusions?" Relaxing slightly, she leaned back in her chair and reopened her magazine. "Well, can't say I blame her. "

John began rubbing the back of his neck, signaling his discomfort. "No uh, not exactly."

Donna tilted her head to look at him. "Well, what. exactly. did. you. do?" she annunciated each word slowly.

He avoided her gaze as he moved on to tugging his ear. "I may have, and by may have I mean probably… okay most definitely blurted out that she _was_ at her friends' New Year's party." he breathed out in a rush.

Donna's mouth dropped open in shock. "You Dumbo!" She smacked him again in the exact same spot and he yelped as he jumped up from the chair. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't okay!" he shouted, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "We were at the party and I thought she was and then I saw her with a beer and I just… It was an accident Donna. Believe me, I feel horrible. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I was so mad at myself."

"As well you should be." she agreed. "Now you go out there and find Rose and apologize right now or so help me." She brandished the magazine at him once more.

 **-** **oOo-**

Rose had been pacing back and forth outside the waiting room for about five minutes when Wilf found her.

"You're gonna wear a hole in your shoes if you keep on like that." he chuckled.

Spinning around to face him Rose let out a small breath of relief. "What happened? Are they lettin' us come back in now?" she glanced passed him, looking for Tosh.

Wilf chuckled again and reached for her hands, squeezing them gently. "Everything's gonna be alright Rose. My grandson and I had a talk."

"You talked to Jack?" her eyes widened in shock, heart hammering in her chest. "What did he say?"

"Well, I just gave him a brief rundown of everything that happened and he'd like for you to come see him tomorrow or well, technically later today. Early though, before visiting hours so that the two of you can talk before the rest of us arrive. We squared it all away with that nice young nurse Tosh. She promised to make an exception on the rules for ya." he winked conspiratorially.

"So…" Rose furrowed her brows. "He's not mad at me?"

Wilf tilted his head and gazed at her endearingly. "No sweetheart, he's not mad. I told you everything would work itself out."

"Dad?" They looked up to see Sylvia approaching with Geoff trailing behind her, a takeaway cup in his hand. "Is everything alright?" she looked between them. "Can we go back in now?"

"'Fraid not love." Wilf replied, dropping Rose's hands. "The doctor wants Jack to get some more rest. Doesn't want him overexerting himself. They said we can come back later today during visiting hours."

"Rest." Sylvia scoffed. "Hasn't he had enough rest? He's been in a coma for almost two weeks."

The door to the waiting room opened abruptly and John came rushing out looking slightly annoyed. He stopped at the sight of all of them standing there, his eyebrows lifting in surprise.

"John, go get your sister." his mother told him. "We're gonna have to come back later."

"Why's that?" Donna asked, suddenly appearing behind him.

"Because apparently the doctors think he needs to rest." Sylvia rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Right." Donna snorted. "Like he needs anymore sleep after a week long coma."

"Well I better go." Rose piped up. "The next tube's leavin' in a few minutes so..."

"I can drive you home." John offered.

Rose smiled politely and shook her head."No that's okay I…"

"Rose," John stepped closer, lowering his voice as the rest of the family watched them curiously. "It's late. Please let me drive you home."

Staring up into his pleading gaze, Rose chewed her bottom lip and after a few moments finally nodded her assent. "Okay."

John let Rose get in her goodbyes with the rest of the family and after a promise from him to see them at home later, he and Rose headed out to his car.

The tension inside the vehicle wasn't much better than it had been in the hospital and the weight of the uncomfortable silence was crushing down on them. It was only a matter of time before one of them caved and began the conversation they both knew they needed to have. Fortunately for Rose, it was John who broke first.

"Rose I'm sorry." he blurted. "I am so very, very sorry."

"For what?" She genuinely wanted to know what his apology entailed.

"For everything." he admitted. "For the way I treated you when we first met. For all the interrogations I put you through. For announcing to all your friends that you were pregnant, even though you weren't." he swallowed roughly and turned his head to find her staring down at her hands and chewing her bottom lip. "And for the things I said last night." Rose lifted her eyes to his at that. "I never meant to hurt you Rose." he swallowed again, his adam's apple visibly bobbing. "I am so very, very sorry. Please forgive me."

Rose sighed and leaned her head back against the seat. "M' sorry too." she confessed. "I guess we both said some things we regret yeah?" she glanced back over at him and he nodded. Snorting softly, she shook her head. "We jus' seem to have a knack for arguin' huh?"

"Yeah." John chuckled in agreement. "Kinda like an old married couple."

The smile immediately faded from Rose's face and John's eyes widened in realization of what he had just uttered. Snapping his mouth shut he looked away, his cheeks burning. Luckily they had arrived at her building, saving him from putting his foot in his mouth any further, and he pulled up to the curb and put the car in park.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Rose finally spoke up, her need to fix things between them overtaking the awkwardness of the situation. "John I… I wanted thank you. Even though we've had our problems you've still been there for me and I appreciate it. You've been a really good…" she paused letting out a breath. "Friend."

John's blood ran cold at her words, his heart clenching painfully as a sickening feeling began to settle in the pit of his stomach.

Rose moved to open the door, hesitating for a moment and then leaned in to brush a kiss against his cheek before turning and climbing out of the car.

"Right." John murmured dejectedly once she had shut the door and he watched her make her way up the stairs. "Friend."

 **-** **oOo-**

It was a little after three in the morning when John got back to his parents house. After letting himself in, he locked up and made for the stairs, ready to just tumble into bed and allow sleep to claim him and carry away the events of the day when he noticed a light coming from the kitchen. He quietly made his way through the living room, following the strip of light to it's source and found his father sitting at the dining room table going over some paperwork.

"Dad?" he questioned softly.

Geoff glanced back over his shoulder. "Oh hey son. Did you just get in?"

"Yeah. What are you still doing up?"

"Oh I wanted to finish up these forms for that estate we bought last week. The liquidator needs them by this weekend. You get Rose home okay?" he asked as John took a seat across from him.

"Yeah and I swung by the store and dropped off those figurines Aunt Sarah sent mum to sell as well."

"Oh good thanks. She's been nagging me about that for a while but I kept forgetting." Geoff shook his head and chuckled softly. "With all the business we've been taking in lately there's just so much stuff to remember. If things keep going the way they are, we may be looking to expand by the time you take over."

John lowered his head staring intently at his clasped hands. "Yeah, about that."

"You don't want to take over do you?" John's head shot up in surprise and Geoff chuckled lightly, setting down the papers he was holding and slipping off his glasses. "I pretty much had that figured out once you went away to school. What I don't understand is why you didn't say anything sooner."

John sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I tried, but you seemed so excited about me taking over and I saw how it affected you when Jack turned it down. I guess I was afraid that you'd to be disappointed in me."

"John," Geoff reached out and placed one hand over his. "I could never be disappointed in you. You've worked hard to earn your degree and I am so, so proud of you. Both me and your mother. And we will always support you no matter what career path you choose. And don't worry about the business, I'm not retiring just yet and you never know, your sister might still want it."

Both men chuckled softly and then John placed his free hand on top of Geoff's and smiled gratefully. "Thanks dad."

 **-** **oOo-**

"Well Rose Tyler as I live and breathe." Jack greeted cheerfully as she stepped through the door.

"Hey Jack." Rose smiled nervously, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "How are you feelin'?"

"Very well rested." he chuckled. "But even more surprising, ready to put on some actual clothes."

He held up his arms, looking down at his dark blue terrycloth robe disdainfully and Rose couldn't help but laugh as she thought back to the pictures from the photo album and Geoff's comments about how much he disliked clothes.

"Well M' jus' glad to see you up and about." she told him as she made her way over to the chair beside the bed and sat down.

"Yeah me too." he agreed. "And I hear I have you to thank for that."

Rose ducked her head, shrugging indifferently. "I jus' did what anyone would have done in that situation."

"I don't know Rose. That was pretty gutsy. I'm not sure if I would have had the courage to do what you did if I had been in that position."

"I think you underestimate yourself." she said, meeting his eyes. "From what I've heard about you from your family, you seem to be pretty amazin'."

"Ah well, that's only cause I'm the favorite." he flashed her his toothpaste commercial grin and she laughed. "Seriously though," he reached out and took her hand, squeezing gently and Rose contemplated how wrong it felt. "Thank you. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you."

Rose smiled softly, a blush warming her cheeks. "You're welcome."

They stared at one another silently for a few moments and the Jack released her hand, clapping both of his together.

"So," he continued, wagging his brows suggestively. "I hear we're engaged."

"Looks like." she laughed again. "Although M' not sure how your other fiancé's gonna take that."

"Other fiancé?" Jack asked bewilderedly. "Okay, you do know it's not nice to confuse a guy who's had brain damage right?"

Rose snorted softly giving him a playful slap on the arm. "So what you sayin' you got amnesia now too?" she giggled. "Your fiancé. You know, Jeanne?"

"Jeanne?" Jack groaned and tossed his head back against the pillow.

"M' sorry. Was I not supposed to know? Oh Jack, M' really sorry. I wasn't tryin' to snoop honest but when I went to feed your cat this mornin' I noticed there were a couple of messages on your machine and I thought it might have been the hospital so I listened to them and well, let's jus' say she didn't sound very happy about you not returnin' her calls."

"That woman I swear." he sighed. "Rose, Jeanne is not my fiancé." he paused, taking in Roses raised brow and 'yeah right' expression. "She's not." he protested. "We've gone out a few times, that's it. The only reason she wanted to date me in the first place is because her father hates me. My firm and I represented a former employee of his on a wrongful termination suit. He lost the case and had to pay a hefty settlement. Hasn't liked me ever since."

"So um," she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Then why is she actin' like the two of you are engaged?"

"Probably to get back at her father for cutting her weekly allowance."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah. One morning a few weeks ago she stops by my flat, tells me she's going to Paris for a few weeks and that she needed me to watch _her_ cat and as an afterthought as she's walking away mentions that she may have told her father we were getting married. So there I am in just my pants holding this cat and chasing her down the hall to the lift and the only explanation she would give me was that she was 'teaching daddy a lesson'." he mocked in a posh tone using air quotes.

"Oh god," Rose tried to stifle a laugh. "M' so sorry."

"Nah, It's my fault for getting mixed up with her in the first place. I should have ended things a log time ago instead of allowing her to continue using me as her scapegoat." he shook his head. "Looks like I've got quite a bit to take care of when I get out of here."

"So um, what about our little situation then?" she asked suddenly.

She felt slightly guilty for bringing it up in light of the other problems he was now currently facing, but it was the main reason she had come to see him today and they needed to talk before the rest of the family arrived.

"I mean do we jus' have like a mutual break up or somethin'?" she chewed her bottom lip nervously. "S' jus' I've really grown attached to your family and I don't want to hurt them in any way."

Jack found himself staring at her, that feeling of warmth and affection settling in the pit of his stomach once more.

"Well we could always just get married?" he suggested.

"What?" Rose asked incredulously.

"Wait, hear me out." he reached for her hand again. "I mean think about it. We like each other, we're both quite attractive." he gave her an appreciative once over. "And honestly, sometimes I feel like I've been out there playing the field too long. Maybe it's finally time for me to settle down and I feel like I could do that with you."

Rose gaped at him. "You want…" she shook her head in an attempt to clear the myriad of thoughts now running ramped through her brain. "Let me get this straight," she said slowly. "You're askin' me to marry you?"

A loud thud drew their attention to the door where Tosh was lying on the ground just inside the room and several of the other nurses were rushing to her aid.

"She's alright." one of the nurses called to them over her shoulder. "She just seems to have fainted."

Turning back to Jack, Rose opened her mouth to speak but he held up a hand to silence her.

"You don't have to answer right now. Just think about okay."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8**

After Rose had left, Jack attempted to get a couple more hours of shuteye but to no avail. He was really hoping he hadn't frightened her too much by his sudden proposal but he was serious about marrying her. Maybe it was impulsive, maybe he was crazy but she was bright and funny and warm, not to mention gorgeous and he was tired of playing the field. His family loved her and he had no doubt in his mind that he could grow to love her just as well if not more.

Coming out of the small ensuite after freshening up a bit, he looked up to see John entering the room.

"Hey bro!" he glanced past him. "Where's everybody else?"

"They're on their way." John tucked his hands in his pockets. "You're looking better."

"I'm feeling better." Jack added with a grin. "So how've you been?"

"Good." John nodded, glancing around the room. "I'm finishing up my dissertation, so I'll have my PhD soon."

"That's great man." Jack's grin widened. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot I brought you something." Reaching down into his messenger bag, John pulled out a small red rectangular package and tossed it to him. "I had had them shipped from the US for you for Christmas. Thought I should give them to you before mum gets here and tries to confiscate them."

Jack gasped softly. "You didn't." His eyes lit up in boyish glee as he looked down at the package of twizzlers in his hands. "Oh, ho, ho. You are the best!" Hopping back onto the bed he tore open the package and removed one of the red licorice twists, taking a bite and humming to himself in delight.

John moved over to the chair beside the bed and took a seat, setting his bag on the floor. Looking back up at his brother he shook his head, his lips twitching in amusement. "Okay, I'm starting to regret giving that to you now." he said watching Jack kicking his heels together happily beneath the blanket as he enjoyed his candy. "It's apparently giving you a sugar high. The next thing you know you'll be bursting into song."

"You know, I feel like I could." Jack admitted. "Ever since I woke up I've just felt… I don't know. It's like I've been reborn, like I've been given a second chance at life. And I owe it all to Rose. You know, she came to see me this morning."

John leaned back in the chair, folding his arms across his chest and looked down at the floor. "Did she?"

"Yeah." Jack glanced over at him. "You've met her right?" he asked and John nodded. "Well, what do you think of her?"

John swallowed roughly and shrugged. "She's great. She's amazing." he paused, his eyes softening as he pictured her in his mind. "She's adventurous and strong, passionate and beautiful. She's got a smile that could outshine the sun and her laughter is extremely infectious. She's not afraid to say what she thinks or how she feels or to stand up for what she thinks is right. But above all, she just makes you want to be a better man."

The color drained from his face as he suddenly realized just how much he had admitted out loud with his inadvertent and heartfelt confession. Cursing his unstoppable gob inwardly, he slowly lifted his eyes to see Jack staring at him with that same look of discernment that Donna had been giving him on and off all week.

Clearing his throat, John quickly averted his eyes and began rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyway um, I think she's brilliant and the whole family loves her so I'm sure you guys will be great together."

Jack smiled knowingly at his brother's trademark tell. "So then you would be on board with the fact that I re-proposed this morning?"

"You re-proposed!" Jack missed John's reaction as both men turned to see Sylvia enter the room, followed by Geoff, Wilf and Donna. "That is so romantic." She stopped short, staring down at the package in Jack's hand. "What are you eating?"

"Um." Jack glanced over at John guiltily.

"Was that cleared by the doctors?" She placed her hands on her hips and looked pointedly between them and John ducked his head to hide his grin.

"Give it here." she demanded, holding out her hand.

Jack drew the package of candy closer to his chest in protest so she stepped up to the bed and snatched it from his hands.

"Aww mum!"

 **-** **oOo-**

"Maybe I should get a cat." Rose mused aloud.

Mickey snorted. "Why? Am I suddenly not interestin' enough to talk to?"

After leaving the hospital Rose had called Mickey up, telling him she needed to talk and now they were both sitting on the couch in her flat drinking a beer as she tried to comprehend how her life had gotten so crazy.

Rose released a soft giggle that quickly transformed into a groan as she rolled onto her side to face him. "Tell me what to do."

Mickey blew out a breath. "I dunno babe. I'm still tryin' to wrap my head around the fact that he actually asked you to marry him."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I wasn't exactly expectin' that."

"Well, do you want to marry Jack?" he asked, mirroring her pose.

"You know; if you had asked me that like a week ago I might have said yes but now…"

"But now there's John." Mickey finished for her.

Rose nodded. "I was so sure that once Jack was awake I'd be able to straighten this whole mess out and if I was lucky, maybe I might be able to make a go of it with John but every day things jus' seem to get more and more complicated." She thumped her head back against the cushion and tilted her face towards him. "By the way, M' sorry about the party. We didn't ruin the proposal did we?"

"Nope. It went off exactly as planned. If anything we managed to steal your thunder since everyone stopped talking about you and started focusing on us instead." he grinned cheekily. "You're welcome."

Rose laughed, playfully slapping him in the arm when suddenly there was a knock at the door. The pair shared a perplexed look and then Rose stood up and made her way over to the door. Leaning in to look through the peep hole, she sucked in a breath and quickly stepped back again.

"S' John." she mouthed back at him.

"Well go on." Mickey encouraged.

Smoothing down her shirt and running a hand through her hair, Rose took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Hi." John said softly.

"Hello." she replied, offering a timid smile.

Noticing Mickey sitting on the couch, John lifted his hand in greeting to the younger man who waved back.

"I'm uh, sorry about the party."

Mickey shook his head. "It's all good mate."

John looked at Rose for confirmation and she nodded giving him another smile.

"Okay, well um," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I just stopped by because Jack mentioned he had re-proposed to you this morning."

Rose's face paled. "He did?"

"Yeah, and well I just wanted to congratulate you again so I brought you a little something. A wedding present of sorts." He pulled a large square shaped package from his messenger bag and handed it to her.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." he nodded towards the package. "Open it."

Grasping hold of the top corner, she slowly peeled back the paper to reveal a large hardbound book. Once it had been completely unwrapped, she opened it to find page after page of some of the most beautiful scenic photos along with a complete history and a guide for how to find the places where they were taken.

Rose swallowed hard as she closed the book and ran her hand over the cover. "S' a history of Barcelona." she murmured.

John nodded, tugging lightly on his ear. "We got a shipment of books in this morning at the shop and I saw it and thought of you. I remembered you saying you'd like to go there someday."

Clutching the book to her chest she looked up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Thank you." she said softly. "I love it."

Nodding again he gave her a brief smile. "Well, I better go. I've got a few more things to drop off so…" he turned to leave and Rose tossed a quick glance back at Mickey who nodded and she stepped outside the door and pulled it shut calling out to him as she chased him down the walkway.

"John wait."

Turning back to her, he met her eyes as she stepped in front of him. There was so much she wanted to say but didn't even know where to begin. So she settled on the one question she desperately needed an answer to. She had to know once and for all if he felt the same.

"S' there any reason you can give me for why I shouldn't be marryin' Jack?"

John swallowed roughly, adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he stared back at her. His lips parted slightly and there was such a deep desperation and longing in his eyes that she was almost taken aback by the intensity. But then he blinked and it was gone, replaced once more by that emotionless mask he always hid behind whenever things started getting too personal.

"No." he smiled bitterly. "I think the two of you are going to be very happy together." Gritting his teeth he spun away from her and headed for the stairs. On the way down, he drove his fist into the wall and she flinched at the sound and the soft curse that followed.

Unable to hold back the tears any longer she turned and ran back to her flat, quickly letting herself inside and slumping up against the door. In an instant Mickey was up from the couch and pulling her into his arms in an attempt to soothe her.

"What happened?" he asked, rocking her gently as her sobs grew louder.

"He didn't want me."

 **-** **oOo-**

Rose wasn't particularly looking forward to the visit with Jack today. Although he was scheduled to be released in a few days, once Sylvia heard the news about him re-proposing she had been adamant about starting the wedding plans as soon as possible. In light of everything that had happened, she reminded them that life was too short and there was no point in putting things off any longer.

When she walked into the hospital room, Geoff and Wilf were playing a game of chess in the corner while Donna and Sylvia poured over a stack of bridal magazines. To her left, Jack was propped up in bed talking to John who was slumped down in the chair beside him, arms crossed and brooding.

"Rose!" The other two women squealed in delight as she made her way towards them and John immediately leapt to his feet, smiling and running a hand through his hair nervously.

Jack shook his head, tossing him an amused look and then gave Rose a wink, who waved back at both men in greeting. After saying hello to Geoff and Wilf, Donna dragged her over to the table to show her various layouts of dresses, cakes, and decorations they had bookmarked.

"Now this is just lovely." Sylvia commented, pointing to a bridesmaid dress.

"Just make sure you're careful when you pick the colors though." Donna laughed. "I know the bride is supposed to be the focus of attention but just remember this," she pointed to her hair. "Doesn't go with everything."

"What is the meaning of this Jack?" Their laughter died out as they all looked up to see a beautiful, well-dressed blonde step into the room followed by an older man with greying hair in a suit.

"Jeanne?" Jack spoke up and Rose's face paled, a led weight settling in the pit of her stomach.

Glancing over at Jack she could tell that he seemed to be in a similar state of distress.

"Davros." Jack then addressed the older man.

"Jack." The man returned curtly.

"Jack, do you know these people?" Sylvia asked looking between the newcomers and her son.

"I'm his fiancé." Jeanne spat at her. "And I demand to know what's going on."

"His fiancé?" Sylvia looked taken aback and Rose took a breath, steeling herself for the barrage of questions but they surprised her by turning on Jack instead.

"What the hell Jack?" John growled.

Jack held up his hands placatingly. "Woah, now hold on there."

"How could you do this to Rose?" Sylvia asked incredulous.

"Who the hell is Rose?" Jeanne's eyes narrowed as her gaze locked onto the other blonde, who shifted uncomfortably. "Oh you're kidding right? Lowering your standards quite a bit aren't you Jack?" she asked looking Rose up and down disdainfully. "I know I was gone a while, but picking up some classless Chav for a quick tumble…"

"Oi lady!" Donna cut in. "You better shut your mouth or I'll do it for you."

"How dare you talk to me like that?" Jeanne sneered. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, a bitch." Donna shot back.

"Okay, I need everyone to calm down" Tosh said coming into the room.

"She started it." Donna pointed an accusing finger at Jeanne. "Coming in here and upsetting our family by claiming to be Jack's fiancé."

"I am his fiancé." Jeanne snapped.

"No she's not." Jack sing-songed.

"Jack, darling how can you say that?"

"Oh uh, 'cause it's true."

"Look Jeanne," Geoff cut in. "I'm not exactly sure what the problem is but you clearly seem to be confused." he stepped forward, placing his hands on Rose's shoulders and she tried not to flinch. "This is my son's fiancé and as it is apparent that you are upsetting him as well as the rest of the family, I think you should leave."

"I'm not leaving till I get some answers." Jeanne stamped her foot. "Jack and I have been dating for a while now, and my father can confirm it." She gestured towards Davros who, clearly disgusted by that fact, nodded in confirmation. "So there is absolutely no way that that cow is engaged to him."

John caught Donna around the waist as she darted forward shouting out a colorful vocabulary at the other woman while Jeanne herself, who was now being restrained by Tosh and her father began yelling insults in French. Meanwhile Wilf had joined Jack next to the bed, covering his mouth in alarm as the arguing grew louder until finally Rose couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop!" she shouted. "Everyone please stop. I have somethin' to say." When the noise finally died down she dared a look at Jack, smiling sadly. "M' sorry Jack I can't do this anymore." He nodded in understanding and she turned back to the rest of the family and took a deep breath. "Jack and I aren't engaged."

"What?" Sylvia asked, dumbfounded.

"If you broke up with her for this French hussy, so help me..." Donna turned an accusing eye on Jack who held up his hands in defense once more.

"No, no. S' not like that." Rose told her. "Okay so, the night he was pushed onto the tracks and I came in with him there was a lot of confusion and…" she paused, glancing over at Tosh who smiled reassuringly. "Somehow someone had mistaken me for his fiancé but the truth is Jack and I were never engaged." she rushed out and Jeanne smiled in satisfaction.

Rose caught John's eyes, a mixture of relief and shock warring within them and he ran an unsettled hand through his hair. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly.

"I was afraid you'd hate me." she admitted, her lower lip trembling as the tears began to well in her eyes. "I was afraid you would all hate me. I've been on my own for such a long time but bein' with you guys, bein' a part of your family this last week gave me back somethin' I hadn't had since I lost my mum and I jus' didn't want to give it up. S' selfish I know, but the truth is that you all mean the world to me and I love each and every one of you so very much. I went from havin' no one to bein' a fiancé," she glanced over at Jack who smiled and then began to address each of the rest of the family members in turn. "A granddaughter, a daughter and a sister." Unable to look at John for any of those titles her gaze finally settled on Donna, who like her mother and grandfather had tears streaming down her face. "And I know that doesn't change the fact that I lied to you and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I will never, ever forget you all and I will cherish the memories that you've given me for the rest of my life."

The room was quiet for a few moments, aside for the occasional sniffling, as everyone attempted to process her confession when Jeanne suddenly spoke up.

"Oh come on. I can't honestly believe that you're all seriously falling for this stupid chav's little act." She turned on Rose with a sneer. "She's nothing but a liar and a gold digger trying to make you feel sorry for her so you'll forget all about how she tried to get her claws into _my_ fiancé for his money."

"Oh that is it." Donna darted forward again only to be grabbed around the waist by John once more, her feet dangling in the air as she kicked out towards Jeanne.

"Did you see that!" the blonde shouted. "She tried to attack me. Jack don't just lie there. Get up and defend me!"

Jack threw his head back against his pillow and groaned, muttering something about wishing he could go back into his coma.

As the fighting continued, drawing in the rest of the family members and a few more nurses, Rose paused lingering just inside the doorway. Her eyes met Wilf's for a moment, the heartbreaking look on his face sending a fresh batch of tears to her eyes and she waved goodbye as he blew her a kiss. Unable to help herself as she turned to leave, she glanced back at John who was still struggling to hold onto Donna and found him looking back at her, his dark eyes filled with anguish but then he looked away. Taking in a shuddering breath, she nodded to herself and disappeared through the door.

 **-** **oOo-**

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Mickey asked as he sealed up another box and stacked it on the growing pile.

"It's what I need to do." Rose amended. "I don't want to work in a shop for the rest of my life. I want to get out there and travel, see the world."

She looked around the flat that had been her home for the last twenty-five years. It wasn't an easy decision to leave. She had grown up here and these walls held all the memories of her childhood and the time she spent with her mother. But she also knew she couldn't continue to dwell on the past. She had to move on. Her mother would have wanted that. With all the overtime, holiday pay and extra shifts she had covered for employees that actually had a family, she had managed to build quite a little nest egg for herself. Not only would it cover her trip but hopefully by the time she got back she'd have another job lined up and could start looking for a new place to settle down.

"And what about John?" Martha inquired gently, cutting through her thoughts. "Have you tried talking to him since…?" she trailed off and looked at her meaningfully.

Rose shook her head. "M' pretty sure he wants nothin' to do with me. He could barely look at me at the hospital." She paused, her lower lip quivering. No. She wasn't going to keep doing this. She refused to let herself break down again. Everything that had happened was her own doing and there was no going back now. She had to move on. "S' better this way." she said finally. "Clean break, fresh start."

Martha and Mickey shared a look of concern but didn't press further.

"Alright, well that's the last of the stuff from the kitchen." Mickey announced, dusting off his hands. "I'd say it's time for a break."

Rose glanced up at the clock. "Yeah, I think you're right. Besides M' supposed to be up at Henrik's in an hour for my farewell party."

Martha dropped the tape gun she had been holding and suddenly burst into tears.

"What?" Rose's eyes widened in alarm. "What is it?"

"You're really leaving." she wailed.

"Oh don't start that. I jus' managed to stop cryin'." Rose's voice wavered as the two women embraced.

"I'm sorry." Martha sniffed. "I guess it didn't really register until just now."

They clutched to one another tightly, sobbing into each other's shoulders as Mickey walked over and put his arms around both of them.

"We're really gonna miss you babe." he murmured into Rose's hair.

"M' really gonna miss you guys too."

 **-** **oOo-**

Donna and Wilf were anxiously waiting for John in the driveway when he pulled up.

"Where the hell have you been?" Donna yelled as he climbed out of the van.

"I had to drop off the rest of that stuff for dad." he replied bewilderedly, pushing past her. "You knew that, I told you this afternoon."

"Why haven't you gone to see Rose?"

John stopped short, hung his head and sighed. "Donna, I already told you I don't want to talk about this."

"Well that's just too bad spaceman, 'cause we do." she gestured between herself and Wilf. "Now when are you gonna stop acting like a plonker and just admit you're in love with her?"

"What?" he turned around to look at them and Wilf nodded his agreement.

Donna rolled her eyes and tilted her head back. "Oh come on. It wasn't hard to figure out; especially with the way the two of you were always making eyes at one another." She waved her thumb towards Wilf. "Gramps knew it before I did."

"It was all that smiling you were doing." he explained. "I've never seen you light up like that before, until she came along. And from what I saw you seemed to bring it out in her as well."

John stood in contemplation for a moment but then shook his head. "Look, I get what you guys are trying to do and I know you mean well but it's… It's just complicated alright."

"It's only complicated if you make it complicated." Donna countered.

"Donna, I can't?"

"Why? She's single. You're single. Win, win."

"And what about Jack?"

"Jack?" she scoffed. "Jack's on our side. He figured it out during your talk at the hospital the other day and thinks you should give it a go too." Reaching out, she took hold of his hand. "John, they were never really engaged. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

Shaking his head again he pulled away to run both his hands through his hair and then scrubbed them down his face. "I... I just need some time to sort things out." he said, turning and heading towards the house.

"Well you better sort them out soon," Donna called after him. "'Cause she's leaving."

"What?" he squeaked, spinning back around.

"Rose. is. leaving." she repeated slowly.

"What?" he looked to Wilf for confirmation who nodded.

"It's true. We went to see her today and her friends were there packing up her flat."

"What?"

Donna rolled her eyes again. "You know repeating that phrase over and over again isn't going to change the information."

"Well, where is she now?"

"Martha said that some of her coworkers were throwing her a farewell party and then she had a few errands to run before her train leaves at seven."

Glancing down at his watch he saw it was a little after five. If he took his own car and left now he might still be able to catch her. Tossing the van keys to Donna he turned in the direction of the garage.

"Wait, what are you gonna do?" she asked.

"I'm going after her." he called back over his shoulder.

Donna turned back to her grandfather and the pair shared a self-satisfied smile when Wilf suddenly remembered something.

"John wait, you'll need this." Reaching into his pocket Wilf pulled out a small blue velvet box. "It was your grandmother's." he said jogging over to place it in John's hand.

Tightening his fingers around it, John met his eyes with sincerity and gratitude. "Thanks Gramps."

Wilf chuckled and gave him a firm pat on the back. "Go get her my boy."

 **-** **oOo-**

Rose quickly made her way down the platform, dragging her new rolling suitcase behind her. She was running behind, the going away party having lasted longer than expected. All of her work friends had turned out for the get together, offering their goodbyes and well-wishes and towards the end Sarah Jane and Ianto had presented her with a brand new set of luggage as well as some additional 'spending money' for her trip. They were all sad to see her go but they understood her reasons and now Rose was ready to embark on a whole new life adventure.

The station wasn't overly crowded so Rose actually managed to find her train in record time but as the door slid open and she prepared to board she heard someone calling her name. Looking around in confusion, she took a step back and glanced in the direction of the voice to see John sprinting towards her and her eyes widened in shock.

"Rose." he breathed out coming to an abrupt stop in front of her. "Don't go."

"John," she gaped at him in surprise and confusion. "What are you…?"

He held up his hand to silence her and shook his head. "Before you say anything just listen." he panted. "I love you, Rose Tyler." Rose's breath caught in her throat and her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest as she stared back at him, not quite sure if she had heard him correctly. "I'm in love with you." he repeated, his eyes boring into hers, willing her to believe him. "We belong together. I knew it the moment I met you and I know you feel the same. And if you still want to travel _we_ can travel. I will go anywhere you want to go as long as we're together because there's no one else I'd rather have by my side or holding my hand." He dropped to one knee, producing a small blue velvet box from his pocket and Rose gasped loudly her hand flying to her mouth as the ring was revealed. "Rose Tyler, Will you marry me?"

"Yes." she nodded fervently, tears springing to her eyes. "Yes!"

Placing the ring on her finger he leapt up and pulled her into his arms staring into her eyes with such intensity she could barely breathe. Wrapping one arm around her to keep her close, he leaned in nuzzling her nose with his own as his free hand moved to cup the back of her head and captured her lips in the most passionate kiss she had ever received in her life.

Melting into his embrace, one of her hands moved to grip the back of his neck and the other threaded through his thick chocolate locks as the kiss deepened and just as Rose felt herself being dipped backwards, loud cheers and applause erupted from the platform. They broke apart to see that they had drawn a small crowd consisting of his family members as well a handful of people who were still waiting on their trains. Geoff was smiling broadly, his arm wrapped around Sylvia who was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief and Donna was giving them a double thumbs up while Wilf blew them kisses.

Rose's cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she began to giggle, burying her face against John's shoulder as he chuckled softly in her ear. Pulling back he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb and she smiled up at him.

"I love you." she said, eyes shining with happiness.

"I love you too." he replied, leaning down to kiss her once more.


	10. Chapter 10

**Epilogue**

Life doesn't always turn out how you expect it. Even when you think you've got everythin' figured out, sometimes it goes and throws you for a loop.

I was so sure I knew where my life was headed, that I was destined to end up with Jack. But even when you _'think'_ you're in love you never really truly know for sure until you're actually in it. S' like you breathe for that person. They're your plus one, your light in the dark, your hand to hold. And for me, that was John.

We got married in a small intimate ceremony with jus' our family and a few close friends and John took me to Barcelona for our honeymoon. It was everythin' I'd hoped it'd be and more. But our adventures didn't stop there. Side by side and hand in hand, we travelled to so many wondrous places around the globe. You could say he gave me the world.

After John got his doctorate I decided to go back to school myself. It seems I had my own knack for science and astronomy and once I got my degree we became an even stronger team. People began turnin' to us for our expertise and we were highly sought out by some of the most well-known institutions around the world. But even with all our travels, we always made time for family.

I remember one Christmas Eve as we all sat around the tree sharing stories and fond memories of Christmases past, Jack turned to me and asked when it was that I knew I had fallen in love with John and I told him, it was while you were sleeping.

 _The End_


End file.
